My new family in Padova

The weather here has been unpredictable: Sometimes it will rain without stopping, other days will be sunny, but with an unexpected chill in the air. The best way to plan your day around Northern Italy's tricky weather conditions is to plan straight through it and hope for the best.

A little drizzle this morning didn't keep us from hopping on the train to nearby Padova. One of the missionaries decided to meet up with his friend, Marta, who had attended bible college the semester prior. I'm so glad we decided to tag along.

So after 45 minutes by train and 20 by bus, we made it to the town center. Today was a market day, where you could find everything from February flowers to cheap shoes from China.

Padova is much bigger than Montebelluna. There were plenty of winding cobble-stone roads and big buildings. Someone told me that the guy in the first photo was someone famous. I for got why, but apparently this Dante fellow lived here.


Not surprisingly, you can find Pizzerias everywhere in Italy, often at very reasonable prices. This square pepperoni (or Salamina Piccante) pizza reminded me of Little Caesar's back home... only 100-times better.
No wonder people eat so much cheese and bread, and yet are still able to remain in great shape--they walk everywhere!
After lunch we went to visit Marta's mom, Kiara. She made us feel at home instantly by offering us hot chocolate. This wasn't you're usual chocolate-flavored water neither... it was so thick and rich, if I didn't know it was a drink I would have just figured it was a melted chocolate bar in a cup.

Kiara was very enthusiastic showing us pictures and told us story after story in her broken English.She understood some of my Spanish too. I especially liked that she thought I was 20 years old!
Even though I new her for less than a few hours, it was kinda sad saying goodbye to my newest Italian friend. Chances are, I won't return to Padova with the limited time I have remaining here. Among other things, finances and cheap February flights will send me home sooner than expected. What I had hoped would be a ministry of service into the spring, became a couple-week visit to this awe-inspiring country. Better get to Venice before it's too late!

We learned some interesting symbolism studying the book of Joshua this morning. I'm familiar with every book of the Bible pointing to Christ in one way or another, but I never saw the type of Christ that Joshua represented. He was the military leader who led the Israelites into the promised land after miraculously crossing the Jordan River. Because their prior leader, Moses, died just before this, he represented the Law (or Ten Commandments). The Law could only get us so far with our Christian walk until it begins to hold us back. At a certain point in our growth, we need to shift our focus from the Law to the Law giver, Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can carry us into a fruitful and fulfilling land (or life).

Good stuff!