Getting To Know Verona

April arrived a little over a week ago and we have gotten her moved into her new apartment. We are finally starting to get things set-up and stabilized here in our own apartment. As we have been getting settled you can imagine the numerous trips around town we have had to make. What that has done has shown us parts of the city that we may not have seen otherwise. It finally feels like we are getting to know the side streets. The streets that locals use, as opposed to the numerous tourists that are here in the summer, but predominately during the summer. Angie and April went out for coffee and while they did that I walked all over the downtown center. In Italy, the 'centro' or center of the city is really just that. It is the heart of the city. Most Italians that live in Verona will go often to the centro, because that is where life starts in Verona. Shakespeare describes the reverse this way...

There is no world without Verona walls, But purgatory, torture, hell itself.
Hence-banished is banish'd from the world, And world's exile is death.
—William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene iii

Whew, that's a little rough. In softer words, nothing is out there that is not better found here. God provided a great location for us to live in Verona. It is within a 30 second walk to a major Verona bus stop which sits in front of the main hospital. There are eleven buses that arrive and leave from this stop. That makes it very convenient to go to certain places in Verona. And we are very thankful for that.

This weekend I had a car accident. I looked down for just a moment, looked up and saw the cars in front had slammed on their brakes because of a crossing ambulance. I never heard the siren nor saw the ambulance. I slammed into the back of the car in front of me, which in turn hit the car in front of it. My car had the most damage. The front bumper, hood, headlights and at least the radiator internally are busted up. It happened on July Fourth, Independence Day! It also happened on a street named after the Italian who discovered America, Cristiforo Colombo Way. We prayed yesterday that this week we would find someone honest and trustworthy to do the repairs. We also prayed that it would be inexpensive. And we prayed that looking for a mechanic might give us a chance to better know our neighbors. This morning as we were heading out, our next door neighbors were leaving also. I asked Giovanni if he knew of any good mechanics. He replied that he did and since I didn't know where I was going, he would go with me! That is a great opportunity to spend time with one of our neighbors, and very generous on his part.

One thing we have found is that the people of Verona are incredibly helpful, even going out of their way to be so. Ask a cafe owner where a store is and she might pull out the phone book herself, look for the number, go outside and point you the way. Or ask a self proclaimed wind-surfing employee at a hardware store where are the best spots are on Lake Garda, and he might just draw you a map, pointing out the sights along the way and remember your name next time you go in! The people of Verona are very kind, helpful and courteous. We pray that those who don't know about having a relationship with Christ, will seek Him and come to have an abundant life with Him.

Here's to exploring the city some more......

Finally

So, after two years and almost six months of planning, recruiting, praying, preparing, raising awareness and training we are finally in Verona. We have been here a week today. I've been sick (read more about that here) for the entire week, so we haven't been able to do everything that we thought we would do, but we have done many things. We have got to meet a few area merchants or pizzeria owners. We have been exploring the streets around our apartment building by visiting stores, looking in windows and walking through neighboring streets. We have been getting our apartment set up, very slowly due to me being sick. Our rental agency has been great, going way above and beyond what we ever expected. They are making sure all problems are taken care of. So this week we have met Marco, and air conditioner repairman, a plumber (whose name we don't know yet) and at some point we are supposed to be meeting an electrician. In two months, all of this will be a faint memory.

Borgo Trento - Trento Neighborhood

Borgo literally means "Burg" or rather neighborhood in Italian. Trento is a city in Italy, but is also the name of a neighborhood in Verona. As we have been looking at different areas of the city in which to live, we had determined that we did not want to live in the historic center of the city. The buildings are amazing and beautiful there. There is also lots of options of things to do. The problem is that because there are so many tourists in Italy, the shopkeepers in the historic area assume that if you are a foreigner that you are a tourist. Who wants to invest time in friendships that you assume are with people that are leaving because they are tourists? So, we wanted to go to a calmer, less touristy part of town. Also, we wanted somewhere that was true Verona. In looking for an apartment, there is a neighborhood, that somehow had not stuck out very much before. It is Borgo Trento. With the potential of our ministry launching near where we live, we continued to consider the spiritual characteristics of the city. There are no evangelical works in Borgo Trento of which we are aware. And of course, as we have written about before, only six percent of Italians consider themselves practicing, and eighty-five percent does not attend mass nor confession not even once throughout the year. Not sure, if this is the neighborhood where we will live or not. But as the prospect grows, our excitement quickens. Soon, we should have a better idea of where we will live, if not the actual address of our new apartment!