God won't allow anything that makes man look self-sufficient in his own eyes.
That got me to thinking about my current circumstances. Right now I am feeling anything but self-sufficient. I have spent a great deal of my life moving from place to place and each move has had it's own set of difficulties. There is always the search for a place to live, a place to worship, a place to shop, etc. but this is unlike anything I've ever experienced. There is nothing in this place that is comfortable or familiar...at least right now.
Don't get me wrong, I am NOT complaining. I am aware that not very many people get this kind of opportunity and Mark and I both feel that God led us here. If you read my previous blogs you'll know that everything that happened from the time we "put our names into the hat" was smooth and effortless. Trust me, we are not arrogant enough to believe we had anything to do with the ease of that part of this transition.
This part of the transition is the difficult part. As I write this, I'm sitting alone in my hotel room. We are staying in a nice place but it's located by the airport and there's not a lot to do out here. Mark is working and has our one and only car and to be honest, the roads are so confusing that I don't feel comfortable driving yet anyway. I have my kindle, my computer, magazines and a sketch pad and pencils but I feel somewhat like a prisoner in a nice cell. If I get really bored I can go walk around the airport. Also, there's the problem of the language barrier. My Italian is pathetic to poor at this stage despite using Rosetta Stone for the better part of a year. I think it's because most Italians speak so quickly and I tend to get that "deer in headlights" look when someone speaks to me. If I'm thinking quickly (which is almost never) I can say "Non capisco, puo parlare pui lentamente per favore (I don't understand, can you speak more slowly please). I guess one of the good things about being near the airport is that some people do speak at least a little English. I can't tell you what a relief that is!
Also there's the cultural barrier. When you live in one culture all your life it's easy to get the hang of stuff, to know how to do everything. Just simple things seem so different here. I was getting so exhausted just doing everyday things last week and then it dawned on me that I was tensing up every time we went out. It's because not knowing the culture and language makes everything more difficult. Going to the post office is a good example. They have machines when you walk in that dispense tickets based on what you want to do there. You have to walk up to the machine and push the correct button. The buttons are of course labeled in Italian. And no one tells you this is the procedure. Walking up to a line and standing there will get you nowhere. Partly because the lines are different based on what you want to do and partly because the tickets are numbered and they call your number based on which ticket you get. Did I mention that nobody goes to the post office to mail anything? The post office here is a business that does everything from handling immigration papers to selling the latest novels. There's no way we would have known any of this save for the fact that the lawyer handling our immigration explained it to us. And on that note...
Thank God for the people He's putting in our path. Our lawyer is an American who's been living here for the past 14 years and not only knows the language and culture but knows how to get things done. We also know a couple named Mike and Veronica (Mike works with Mark) who are getting us connected with a church and Bible study groups. I will be so glad to have those kind of relationships again. You can feel so isolated without them. We are going to their house tomorrow night to meet some couples from church and a Bible study. Also on Friday morning I'm going with Veronica to a ladies Bible study group and then we're going to Switzerland (about a half an hour away) to do some shopping! I'm very excited about that!
As I stated above, I'm really not complaining. There is a lot about this place that is so interesting and I'm sure when we finally get into a house things will be much brighter. We have already found a place but the process here is slow so we're just waiting. It could be a month or more so I guess I better just cool my heels! In the mean time I appreciate your prayers on our behalf. God is good and I know he'll take us through this difficult part and lead us to something beautiful. He always does! For now:
Arrivederci!
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