A dopo, Sansepolcro!

Please forgive the delay in my posting. Last week was a difficult one for me and many loved ones back home, but God is still good and He has been abundantly faithful through this past storm. My friend Luke is with Him now, free from pain and relishing the presence of his King. It has been very hard to be away from my family, friends, and church body during this time, and then this past weekend I missed out on what sounded like a magnificent celebration of his life, which was equally hard. At this point, none of it feels real.

However, more than anything else I am simply thankful to have known Luke during his time on earth – and rejoicing in the knowledge that I will see him again in the next! Please keep praying for his family, friends, and our church family as they all continue to adjust to the gaping hole Luke has left behind.

Well tomorrow I have to bite the bullet and say goodbye to Sara, Patrizio, Leonardo, Ginevra, Veronica, and Sansepolcro – for the present, at least. It is bittersweet because the idea of Siena, including all its unknowns and the adventures that lie ahead, is very exciting – and yet, I know that I will miss the family (which I now regard as my own) quite terribly, and also that adjusting to the fast paced demands of academic life will be hard at first. Thankfully, Sansepolcro is just an hour’s bus ride away, so, assuming my homework load is manageable, I will be able to visit my “home away from home” on a regular basis! I keep telling Sara and Patrizio how much I am going to miss all the little things that we find trying, like Ginevra’s “NOOOOO!”’s and Leonardo’s under-the-table kicks, etc. Sara laughed and said, “Well if you are really missing them that much, we can just send you one while you are in Siena, no problem!”

Tomorrow morning Sara and Patrizio are taking me to Arezzo where I will be catching a train to Firenze and then another on to the Pisa airport where I will be meeting up with the other students. I have to leave pretty early in the morning, but what a blessing to not be jet-lagged like the rest! I will have to be extra nice to the ones that are. From there we will be staying in Pisa (or nearby anyway) for a couple days of orientation before heading on to Siena, on Saturday I believe. Then classes start on Monday – yikes!

I am not sure what my internet availability will be like for the next few days, but I will post again in Siena if not before. I would really appreciate your prayers as I move into this next phase of my time in Italy. Grazie mille! I have been so very blessed by my time in Sansepolcro, and while life in Siena will be far more demanding, I know God has great plans for my days there as well.

Thank you for listening, as always. Until Siena – arrivederci!

Bekah