La gioia del Signore

Goji Bear, Splot and Schu-pin climbing our host's refrigerator in Torino

We're back in the US for a month or so before our move. Oh, there is so much more I'd like to tell about our trip, but I need to take care of finding a mover and packing, finding at least a temporary apartment, and handling a letter from the IRS before the middle of August. So it might be a little while before I blog again.

I'll just leave it at this for now: The trip renewed my faith in the country of Italy. Despite the bureaucracy, it's a lovely place, and I do think we'll like living there. And I can think of no better symbol of our transition than the three little animals in the photo above.

As I wrote before, we took two teens along with us on our trip to Garfagnana and Torino, a sister and brother. By the end of the trip, they and CZ had bonded to the point where they had their own inside jokes, and knew the others' pet peeves. And despite having to deal with various travel inconveniences (namely lugging suitcases on trains, traveling in full sun, and keeping enough clean laundry in these conditions), they really got along beautifully. I think they helped CZ realize that she liked Italy. And I can honestly say they never met a gelateria they didn't like.

The last day in Torino, while I was looking at apartments and Bob was visiting his new employer, the three of them explored the center of the city together. They had intended to do some shopping, but most shops in Italy are still closed from Sunday on Monday morning. So mostly they window shopped.

At the end of the day, they went into some little IKEA-like store where everything was cheap, which suited their budgets just fine, and bought the three little "friendship animals" above. Their names are Goji Bear, Splot and Schu-pin, which are all inside jokes and I can't explain them except that someone was very tired once and combined Schubert and Chopin, resulting in the third name.

The other item in the photo is a little card that was on our host's refrigerator. It says, "La gioia del Signore e' la nostra forza (Neemia 8,10)." The joy of the Lord is our strength. Italians are to skilled at doing much with little, and for the most part, they are full of joy. And I've met some who are full of the joy of the Lord. What better thought to take home for our last month in the United States?