Introducing our new podcast, "Go Verona Radio"....
It is found at http://goveronapodcast.blogspot.com/ and you can subscribe to the podcast at http://feeds.feedburner.com/GoVeronaRadioPodcast.
The plan is to have a new podcast each month. If you have suggestions for topics or things that you would like to hear us discuss or explore, email me at mcrosser@teamexpansion.org. Thanks for listening.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
What a Full First Month
Whew. We are almost at the end of the first full month, of Angie and I being on the Verona team full time and can I just say.....whew, once more? There has been so much to do as we take the reigns of this ministry full time. We had planned on taking some of our vacation time and it just turned out that August was not the best month for us to do that. The Blackburns made it back to the USA and are getting readjusted to American life. April headed back to Haiti for her last school year teaching English there. Lots of communication has been going on and Angie and I completed our Field Ministry Plan for the upcoming nine months.
There are eight primary objectives of which we will be concentrating. Those eight are... recruiting, relocating, promotion & communication, research, preparation, training, relationshop building and administration. Everything we do fits into one of those areas and allows us to be more efficient and organized. Once the team starts arriving in Verona, those primary objectives will shift and include new objectives such as language aquisition and culture study. Everything we aim for is prayed over and subject to God's leading. He is an awesome God and we are so thankful to be serving Him.
If you want to see some of the graphics that I have been working on, head over to my sketchblog at http://mattsketchpad.blogspot.com/ and tell me what you think! It is mixed with other art that I work on in my spare time as well.
There are eight primary objectives of which we will be concentrating. Those eight are... recruiting, relocating, promotion & communication, research, preparation, training, relationshop building and administration. Everything we do fits into one of those areas and allows us to be more efficient and organized. Once the team starts arriving in Verona, those primary objectives will shift and include new objectives such as language aquisition and culture study. Everything we aim for is prayed over and subject to God's leading. He is an awesome God and we are so thankful to be serving Him.
If you want to see some of the graphics that I have been working on, head over to my sketchblog at http://mattsketchpad.blogspot.com/ and tell me what you think! It is mixed with other art that I work on in my spare time as well.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Fnac
Two things I love are books and coffee. Put those two things together and I am in a wonderland of delight! When we are in the states one of my favorite things to do is go to Barnes and Noble where I can wander through the books forever. Finally, I will make a selection of several books that I want to sit and look through and I head to the coffee shop. There I will get a tall coffee and spend a long while perusing the pages of books that interst me. I can spend all day there if I am allowed!
Living in Italy I have never found a place that fullfills, in the same way, that time spent at a Barnes and Noble. Yes, there are bookstores...nice ones. Yes, there are coffee shops....great ones! But in Italy I had yet to find a place that fullfilled my love of books and coffee at the same time.
However, it looks like Verona might just have something that will do the trick, Fnac. It is a store we had never heard of until we visited Verona. They have electronics, movies, video games but best of all downstairs is a bookstore! It is filled with children's books, cooking books, decorating books, magazines and so much more. I bet you would never guess what is also in Fnac? A coffee shop!!!
Living in Italy I have never found a place that fullfills, in the same way, that time spent at a Barnes and Noble. Yes, there are bookstores...nice ones. Yes, there are coffee shops....great ones! But in Italy I had yet to find a place that fullfilled my love of books and coffee at the same time.
However, it looks like Verona might just have something that will do the trick, Fnac. It is a store we had never heard of until we visited Verona. They have electronics, movies, video games but best of all downstairs is a bookstore! It is filled with children's books, cooking books, decorating books, magazines and so much more. I bet you would never guess what is also in Fnac? A coffee shop!!!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Verona Highlight: Piazza delle Erbe Markets
As we share with you the work in progress, we want to introduce you to the city where we will be living. So, we will post highlights that describe in word and photos about different areas of Verona. So for this first highlight, we will be talking about the "Piazza Delle Erbe". A piazza is like a town square that serves many functions. Meeting place, community center, an area dedicated to local cafes & restaurants, concert hall, etc.....
From the City of Verona website (http://www.comune.verona.it/turismo/Passeggiando/inglese/itineraryA/erbe.htm), here is the description of the Piazza Delle Erbe.
"PIAZZA DELLE ERBE
The Forum, centre of city life during Roman times, was situated here. The Piazza delle Erbe has continued to fill this same role for centuries: meeting place, home to the market, and also home to the city's administration. The centre of the square contains the monuments that symbolise the different rulers of Verona: the most famous is the fountain, built using a Roman statue during Scaligeri rule and later known as the "Madonna Verona". On the far side of the square are the 14th century Gardello Tower and the Baroque Palazzo Maffei. The courtyard of the Palazzo del Comune leads on to the Lamberti Tower with its suggestive panoramic views over the city."
The Forum, centre of city life during Roman times, was situated here. The Piazza delle Erbe has continued to fill this same role for centuries: meeting place, home to the market, and also home to the city's administration. The centre of the square contains the monuments that symbolise the different rulers of Verona: the most famous is the fountain, built using a Roman statue during Scaligeri rule and later known as the "Madonna Verona". On the far side of the square are the 14th century Gardello Tower and the Baroque Palazzo Maffei. The courtyard of the Palazzo del Comune leads on to the Lamberti Tower with its suggestive panoramic views over the city."
As for the market, you can still find fresh fruits and vegetables. Here are some pictures...
Friday, August 3, 2007
Good Trip
We had a good overnight trip to Verona. There was lots of traffic on the way there and on the way back, but that was worth it to continue the quest to Verona. Angie and I arrived and explored some parts of the city and county of Verona that we hadn't seen before. The interns had taken the train from Rome and met us that night. On the train they had met a guy, Giuseppe, serving in the Italian military in nearby Trento (about forty minutes via car). He came into Verona today with a friend and they hung out with us as we explored Verona and then we went to lunch together. They even picked up the tab to show their friendship. Giuseppe's friend, Pasquale, has a strong desire to learn English and we talked about the English lessons/conversation will be offering once we arrive in Verona. He is excited. We exchanged cell phone numbers with Giuseppe and Pasquale to keep in touch. Then we took the interns to one of the area malls and we explored it and had dinner. While shopping, Lucia, was met by one of the interns and she was told about what we would be doing once we moved to Verona next year. Lucia speaks some English and was excited to learn how to converse even better in English.
God really led us around as we went into and through the city. My excitement is growing for the future and I can't wait to see what God is going to do in Verona. One day, we pray for a strong group of believers leading and reaching out to their peers in that beautiful city in northern Italy. And we also hope that through their willingness and giving that more churches would come from this one in the North.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Full Speed Ahead
Today marks the first day that Angie and I are both full-time team members of the Verona team. For the past seven months we have been moving forward through a gradual transition which has seen great benefits. Yesterday was our last day on the Ancona team, which leaves us singly focused for the first time in many months. So, we go forward and I hope to lead this new team, still forming, into Verona and follow the great commission and bring many into His kingdom.
We will still be living here in Ancona for the next three months before we return to the USA for recruiting, promoting, training and support raising. However, today we are driving to Verona to spend a day showing the interns, that have been here in Italy, the city that God has called us to next. I plan on posting something from our latest journey soon.
We will still be living here in Ancona for the next three months before we return to the USA for recruiting, promoting, training and support raising. However, today we are driving to Verona to spend a day showing the interns, that have been here in Italy, the city that God has called us to next. I plan on posting something from our latest journey soon.
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