What were you grateful for this week?
Perfect timing! 

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?
Italian! The language. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. 
Spending all week with [my host family’s daughter] and creating a better bond. 

Tell us about your week!
This week was extremely boring. I moved to the seaside with [my host family’s daughter]. I spent every day on the beach with her and her cousins and their nanny. It’s been a little trying because they all speak Italian and very little English. I can’t help when the kids cry because I don’t know what’s going on. The week was hard, but I’ve been given the opportunity to get to know the extended family better! 

 

After a long week, the weekend was much needed. Even though it had a rocky start… On Saturday, I got up at 4:30 to get to a specific bus in order to my train on time. Unfortunately, the bus flew past me as if the driver hadn’t seen me. I started to panic. 

 

After several bus switches, and some hardcore praying, I eventually made it to the station with plenty of time to spare. It was a crazy morning. But it got me thinking. If I hadn’t been so stressed about making my train, I never would have recognized the blessing of making the train! And if I hadn’t recognized that blessing, I wouldn’t have recognized the blessing that followed. My train switched numbers and it took some time to figure out the switch. If I hadn’t been blessed to make it to the train station with 20 minutes to spare, I wouldn’t have seen the blessing of time to find my train. If I was running, with barely any time left, I would have struggled to figure out the switch and ultimately been left behind. God needs some recognition from time to time. He knows everything and has a plan. How often do we overlook the blessings on a day to day basis? Too often. He has a hand in every little moment. every single thing that happens, happens for a reason.

 

I made it to Venice and met up with C! It was an incredibly beautiful city! However, I was expecting more river streets than there were. The gondola ride we took was straight out of a movie! Despite the bus debacle, it was a great weekend!