Adam in Salerno

Belated Florence conference Blog

2006-11-05T15:19:00.000+01:00

The conference in Firenze (Florence for all you English speakers) went well. Florence is a beautiful city, although I didn't really get a chance to see that much of it. We were in conferences all day with everyone that works with Crusade in Italy. It was great to get a nation wide perspective of how God is working in Italy. We also got to hear from an evangelical pastor, Salvatore, who is looking to partner with us in reaching students. It's refershing to see people working together for God without any regard to credit for the organization or the individual. I didn't get a chance to see the statue of David, but everyone who did really enjoyed pointing out how big he is...

On Friday we went to the Ferarri factory near Bologna. It was cool simply because I've been to the ferarri factory in Italy. But the trip itself was horrible. We traveled for 5 hours (with all our luggage) for 45minutes in a ferarri museum. But it was all worth it for this picture:

Ciao ciao

Andiamo a Firenza!

2006-10-24T20:58:00.000+02:00

Just a quick note. For all of you who are hoping to talk to me this weekend (and I know that's every one of you) I will be incomunicado. We are heading to Florence for a all Italy conference. So I won't be back untill Monday. I'll tell you all about it when I can!

Thoughts from Italia

2006-10-23T20:07:00.000+02:00

It’s been a long time since my last update. As it turns out it we still don’t have Internet. So it’s difficult for me to motivate myself to walk to the girls apartment to update the blog. I guess this shows just how lazy I can be (the girls apartment is only two buildings away). But in any case, life in Salerno is now very busy.

We just finished our third week of ministry on campus. The initial difficulties of simply starting conversations with students are still present, although it is not as bad as it sounded in my last post. Once I came to the realization that it will always be aqward to approach random people and start conversations, it actually became much easier to do so. It's difficult to convey what it is that we do, basically we rely upon God and he does the rest. Bill Bright said that success in witnessing is "Sharing Christ with people in the power of the Holy Spirit and trusting God with the results." So that I what do.

I wanted to share what I've been learning about God recently. I'm going through the book The Knowledge of the Holy, by A. W. Tozer. The book is a wonderful assessment of God and his attributes. While reading I was struck by the truth behind the statement What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us... Now this is true for both the believer and the non-believer. Atheism takes as much, if not more faith than theism. Every man lives by faith, the nonbeliever as well as the saint; the one by faith in natural laws and the other by faith in God. Every man throughout his entire life constantly accepts without understanding.

I'll let Tozer tell the rest:
That our idea of God correspond as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us...

"The man who comes to the right belief about God is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems, for he sees at once that these have to do with matters which at the most cannot concern him for very long; but even if the multiple burdens of time may be lifted from him, the one mighty single burden of eternity begins to press down upon him with a weight more crushing than all the woes of the world piled one upon another. That mighty burden is his obligation to God. It includes an instant and lifelong duty to love God with every power of mind and soul, to obey Him perfectly, and to worship Him acceptably. And when the man's laboring conscience tells him that he has done none of these things, but has from childhood been guilty of foul revolt against the Majesty in the heavens, the inner pressure of self-accusation may become too heavy to bear."

"The gospel can lift this destroying burden from the mind, give beauty for ashes, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. But unless the weight of the burden is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man... Low views of God destroy the gospel for all who hold them."

"The idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is--in itself a monstrous sin--and substitutes for the true God one made after its own likeness. Always this God will conform to the image of the one who created it and will be base or pure, cruel or kind, according to the moral state of the mind from which it emerges."

Quite simply, this is why I'm here in Italy. This is what most Italians have, a view of God that is idolatrous and simply incorrect.

First week of ministry, 2 new believers!

2006-10-08T19:13:00.000+02:00

We began ministry on campus this past week. It feels good to finally do work that we are here for. It was also surprisingly difficult. We were all apprehensive on our first day on campus. Basically, my entire life for the last 4 months has built up to this.

For those of you who still have no idea exactly what my day looks like. We meet for prayer every morning. After praying for each other and the day we walk to a bus to go to campus. Once on campus we try to meet new students and share the gospel with them. This is the most difficult part of what we do, in my opinion. It is very awkward to walk up to random people and start a conversation. It's even more awkward when those people probably don't speak English. Additionally, we meet with students to disciple them and help them to grow in their faith. We also spend time on campus in prayer.

As a result of some of these difficulties we have to trust God in a very real way. We trust in Him to lead us to English speakers and otherwise to overcome language barriers, to give us boldness, and to lead us to those whom he has prepared to hear the gospel.

We wanted to praise God for leading us to two such people this week. Nunzia and Paola trusted Christ after meeting Gayle and Sarah Love and Kat today on campus and hearing them describe the story of God's love for them and his intention that they know Him and experience that love personally. Sarah Love and Gayle and Kat said these girls couldn't have been more ready to hear the Gospel. These are the first new believers of our STINT year. Today was our 4th day on campus doing ministry. We're off to a slower pace than the summer project, but we're confident that the Lord is still moving here. Please pray for continued fruit on this campus.

2006-10-06T23:20:00.000+02:00

My address

2006-10-06T15:02:00.000+02:00

Well, I know you have all been hoping to send me loving letters and packages full of goodies. GOOD NEWS! You can send them:

c/o Katy Myers
#29 Via Porta Catena
84100 Salerno
Italia

No Internet + busy schedule = no blogs

2006-10-04T19:56:00.000+02:00

It's been a while since I've given out a general update. I'm enjoying life in my new apartment, but we still don't have Internet so it has been difficult keeping everyone up to date.

The last few days have been crazy. We've been trying to settle in to our new apartment. On Saturday I visited Positano (the most beautiful city I've been to so far). Here is a pic:

We also started ministry on campus this week. I'm looking forward to updating you all on this soon. But for now I will leave you with what I know you want. My Gelato count.

One goal I have while I'm here that I have yet to share with you is to try 100 flavors of gelato. Now, every time you order a gelato you get at least two flavors, so at this point I have been in italy about 25 days. I've had gelato 19 times and I've tried 35 different flavors. I'm keeping a log of the flavors and a pie chart (thank you business school) that I will share with you eventually.

I miss you all. Keep praying for us as we reach out to Italian students daily.

I am no longer homeless!

2006-09-30T22:48:00.000+02:00

We found an apartment!!! The guys (that'd be me and two others) are moving in to a new apartment Thursday. This is the one I've been talking about. It's a little expensive, but it is in a great location, and it has plenty of room.

We still need another apartment though! The Gallo's are still in need of another apartment. They are being kicked out of their current apartment. This is really a blessing, but, they do still need another apartment. We had initially looked in to an apartment adjoining to the one the guys are moving into, however it seems this apartment is already being rented by someone else. PLEASE PRAY for us as we continue to search for another apartment. Pray that God would either provide this supposedly rented ajoining apartment, or that he would provide another good apartment.

In the last few weeks it has been difficult to be comfortable with our surroundings. We have all been living out of our suitcases, I was living out of a suitcase for about a month before arriving here, so I'm really unsettled. I'm actually sleeping in the main gathering place at the moment (the largest room in one of our two apartments). We have also been very busy with meetings, language school, and the daily things that it takes to simply live. In short, it is difficult for me to become comfortable with my surroundings. The sources of support that I am normaly relyant upon, including my family and friends, just arn't here. This has really forced me to rely upon God as my only source of comfort.

San Matteo 2006!

2006-09-24T09:39:00.000+02:00

This past week was very exciting in the city of Salerno. The entire city has been full of people celebrating the festival of Saint Matthew. Why Saint Matthew you ask? He is the patron saint of Salerno because he's supposedly buried in the Duomo (large central church) here in Salerno (actually just a 5 minute walk from the apartment). Ok, well they don't claim to have all of San Matteo, just his arm...

So, the entire city filled up this week to celebrate the arm of San Matteo. Or at least that's how we Americans see it. The main festivities involved them bringing the statues of various saints out of the Duomo and parading them around the city. EVERYBODY comes out and croweds the streets as the statues round the city. Women throw flowers from their balconies, it was quite a sight. It's actually the closest thing to Idol worship I've ever seen.

The city itself was busier than I've ever seen it. It was exciting to walk around at midnight with full streets, all the shops open, and a fair on the pier.

Salerno the beautiful

2006-09-22T00:11:00.000+02:00

Salerno really is a beautiful city. It has rained a fair amount since we've been here, but on the days when It is sunny... Words simply cannot describe, so here are some pictures:

This is the view from our classroom, the buildings seen are just west of where we live.
Click an image for the full size photo.

This is another view of the city itself.

This was taken on the balcony of one of our apartments (the one that Justin and Gayle Gallo live in).

General news, apartment maybe

2006-09-18T23:55:00.000+02:00

Nothing fantastic to note as of late. We've been here about a week and a half now and things still haven't slowed down. I'm still loving the gelato (8) though I broke my daily streak after having one every day for the first week.

We looked at two apartments today, both in a great location. See the street in my first post? Its in the second building on the left. We could open the window and see the girls 2 apartments. So, God willing we will be able to move in to one of these two apartments.

Language school starts tomorrow, exciting but frightening. Hopefully this will help, in the last few days we have been mocked by more waiters than I can remember, most of them named Umberto. We will also begin going on campus to pray for the students we will meet soon.

I'll update you with more information soon. For those who just have a desperate need for a picture of Adam, drink in the image of me from my ISight camera:

Euro Adam

2006-09-15T16:03:00.000+02:00

Well, I said it would happen so here it is:

Piacere Amalfi (Pleased to meet you Amalfi)

2006-09-14T00:43:00.000+02:00

These last few days have been spent in prayer with my team, getting to know the Italian culture, exploring Salerno, and getting to know the other 9 STINTers here. The most interesting thing we’ve done (therefore the only thing I will post here) was a trip to the Amalfi Coast. Below is a picture of the town of Amalfi from the ferry:

I’ll give you a little background on Amalfi. It’s a coastal city a couple miles West and North of Salerno. When I was in the States every Italian I talked to about Salerno raved about the Amalfi Coast. It’s a big deal for Italians.

So, on Wed my team and I boarded a ferry and took a day trip to Amalfi. The city itself was actually very touristy and loud. Contrast this with Salerno were tourists rarely come and the city is much more laid back. The beach was small, had tiny rocks (instead of sand), and old sunbathing ladies. The best part of the city was the waterfall in the mountains. We hiked for about 1-2 miles into the mountains and all jumped into the coldest water ever.

In short, people come for Amalfi but stay for Salerno.

Food for life and life for food

2006-09-14T00:38:00.000+02:00

I don’t have to say how great the food is here, because we all know it’s great. If you don’t… well, you’ll just have to come visit to find out. But there are some things that need to be disclosed.

Italians gave us pizza, and what did we give them in return? Hot dogs and French fries. Not a bad trade in my opinion, but I guess we didn’t tell them what to do with hot dogs and French fries. Italians put both these delectable American treats on EVERYTHING. They have a particular fascination with fries. I have had Gyros and Turkish paninos with fries (on the sandwich). Then I discovered the Italian Hot dog/French fry pizza. Words cannot describe, so here is a picture:

Ohh yea, and gelato every night (5)

The trip over and my first day in Italy:

2006-09-10T17:43:00.000+02:00

Leaving was difficult, but my roomates showed up to bid me farewell (pic above). The trip over was long and boring so I’ll spare you the details. When we arrived we met our team in the Napoli (Naples) airport and took a train, bus, and taxi into Salerno. Salerno is a beautiful city. Once we had our bags taken care of we went out for pizza and gelato! I’ll keep a gelato count just for fun (that’s 1). We then got cell phones to use over here. I’m too poor to pay to call the states on it, but we have some vonage phones with unlimited minutes (I’ll get you the number when I have it).

We currently have 3 of the 4 apartments that we will be staying in for the year. And, being the chivalrous guy that I am, that makes me officially homeless. On the left you can see a picture of one of the girls apartments (where I currently sleep). And the street that it is on.

In the morning I had my first interesting solo adventure. I woke up and went to a pastry shop for breakfast. After quickly establishing that I speak no Italian and the owner speaks no English, I pointed to a pastry, paid my 1 Euro, and left. I ended up with a tasty lemon pastry that I ate on a bench overlooking the Mediterranean... life is hard.

I'm a blogging European traveler now... and I have a mac.

2006-09-10T17:38:00.000+02:00

In lieu of regular e-mails, I’ve decided to try and keep a blog of my happenings in Salerno for family and friends. I’ll still send support e-mails that update my supporters/friends/family and everyone else (you know who you are). My blog is more for daily happenings in the life of Adam.

I’m not a big fan of blogs, never really read them or written one, so we’ll see how this goes. If you know someone who would be interested in reading my ramblings, by all means point them in the right direction. I’ll try to keep these short and as entertaining as possible, let me know if there is anything you want me to talk about on here.

It is you’re one stop shop for all things Adam!