Anyhow, I am over at the Shorts's house (they are the missionaries I work with here in Milan). We are celebrating Thanksgiving on Saturday, since of course it isn't a holiday here, with the missionaries in Padua. We're driving over tomorrow (it's about a three-hour drive) and spending the night with them, and then having a feast for lunch on Saturday. We cooked two pies (pumpkin and apple) and some cookies today to take, and I'm also taking corn.
Today is also Rebecca Short's first birthday, so she got to rip some wrapping paper, look at a pretty candle, and enjoy some carrot cake. I've gotten quite an education spending so much time with children! I posted some new pictures on my picture website. On November first, which is a holiday here, a group of about sixteen of us from Milan went over to Vicenza (about two hours on the train) for a Ladies' Day. It was a beautiful day to be out, and we enjoyed the time spend with church members from several churches across northern Italy. The topic of the day was marriage and family, especially on choosing a Christian husband and parenting. Since several members of the Milan church are young single women, the 'finding a Christian husband' topic has been much discussed recently. It is a real problem here--for example, in our church, we have six or seven young single women and no young single men at all. The situation is similar is many churches. We have so many couples in the church that one is a Christian and one isn't, for that reason. It's yet another issue that we often take for granted in the Bible Belt.
My other set of pictures is from a recent (November 11) Agape (fellowship meal) at the Milan church. We had a potluck meal after church, and then we honored a couple in our church, Nora and Eric. They are both from the Philippines (as are several church members; it's a large 
immigrant group here), and Nora has lived here in Milan for several years. She and Eric were married two years ago when she went back to the Philippines for a few months, and they have spent the last two years on opposite sides of the globe, trying to get his paperwork together to join her in Italy. She couldn't go back to wait with him there, because his papers were contingent on her holding a job here. Anyhow, finally, after a lot of hard work and prayers, he finally arrived in Milan about three weeks ago. So, in celebration, the church gave them some presents and we had a special prayer for them now that they are finally together again. Also, Eric was a preacher in the Philippines, so we look forward to him being a helpful and active member here.
immigrant group here), and Nora has lived here in Milan for several years. She and Eric were married two years ago when she went back to the Philippines for a few months, and they have spent the last two years on opposite sides of the globe, trying to get his paperwork together to join her in Italy. She couldn't go back to wait with him there, because his papers were contingent on her holding a job here. Anyhow, finally, after a lot of hard work and prayers, he finally arrived in Milan about three weeks ago. So, in celebration, the church gave them some presents and we had a special prayer for them now that they are finally together again. Also, Eric was a preacher in the Philippines, so we look forward to him being a helpful and active member here. Well, I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving and that the holiday season gets off to a good start. The Christmas decorations are in full swing here! My brother is coming to visit for a couple of weeks for Christmas, so I'm looking forward to seeing him again and enjoying the season. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
