its funny how the church will find itself. connections are divinly made in order for the family to become aware of its presence in a city or place. yesturday when i went to church w- my friend calais at the church she has been going to, i realized this. michael, a guy i had met at a friends going away party, was there, which was not a coincidence b/c he had told me about this church awhile ago and i hadnt had the chance to go but we still ended up at the same place. and also girls id seen around school were there. the church is a house church and i felt like i was walking into open arms. during worship as we all gathered in one room around a piano and 2 guitars, just looking around, God just gently reminded my heart that i will never be alone. but that every person there including myself, that came to florence thinking they wouldnt find any christians, ended up in the same boat. it really spoke to me of Gods sovereign love for his bride. and my spirit was surely smiling the remainder of the day.
also the past 2 nights me and calais have been hanging out at a bar called i 5 tavoli (the 5 tables). and i have come to love the group of friends so much. they are all italians except one girl from latvia. they are all just so individually precious and as a group they are so- one. they equally love eachother. we were all supposed to go sailing this weekend to elba but it was postponed b/c the owner of the bar, alfredo, also one of their best friends, got into a motorcycle accident breaking both legs, one arm and both hands. so they all stayed to run the bar for him. they are really teaching me so much about how friendship should be. italians definately are not shy about showing their heart. even in the simple act of kissing both cheeks to greet and say good bye- in the states would be thought of as invading ones space and would definately not be done upon first introduction, is a staple to italian culture. david and liga are the couple of the group but they are anything but exclusive. they both are just as affectionate, in friendly ways, to everyone else and almost put their relationship on hold in respect to others. the groups core is- francesca, cecilia, david, liga, suzi, gabrielle, julia, e alfredo- and though they stick together- they are definately not a clique. me and calais are making ourselves part of the group and they love it. we walk through the doors greeted by a cheerful 'ciao!' and as we sit at the bar we get surprised with new invented drinks that we all share along with chips, frys, and conversation. they mainly speak in italian so i try to understand but their body language definately speaks for them often. we are getting to practice our italian along with them getting to practice their english and we have grace for eachothers lack of fluidity of speech. i really love it and just with in the past week i can say that i will really miss it here.