Sono felice perche sono ritournata!

So it is Wednesday. We were supposed to go on campus for the first time on Monday. That didn't happen. Then yesterday was an international day of Prayer. So we prayed. It was good. So today was the day. We met at 9am @ the Girls' apt. We prayed. It was good. Then we gathered materials. We talked about how anxious we were. It was good. Then we started walking to the bus stop. We bumped into our friend Gianluca (he is a student and a writer and has a band and is basically the definition of cool.). Then we kept walking. We made it on to the bus. Not too crowded this time. I thought about what it would feel like to be back on campus. Strange. It seemed neither strange nor familiar. There was hope.
Breanna and Jamie were paired off with me. I was hoping that we could start the day off by meeting with my friend Silvia. Something familiar, something friendly. Nope. Oh well. We walked out to the fountain by ingenereria and lingue. There was a bench with four girls chatting with each other. We took a deep breath and took the plunge. "Ciao...Come state? Mi chiamo Mai....lei presento mia amiche Breanna e Jamie....Lavoriamo con un organazazione religioso si chiama Agape Italia...."..........insert awkwardness here......
We then are bombarded with questions about who we are, where we are from, what kind of religion, etc etc etc.....
One girl is pointed out that "Parla Inglese bene"....Alessia (she does). Another girl says she doesn't believe in God...she does, just not in religion...I can understand that. I get into a deeper conversation with Valentina...she wants to know exactly what I believe and after telling her she says "So you are not Protestant? You are a Christian?". Yes! She gets it! Only I guess she didn't because when the conversation is winding down I asked her if I can have her number to maybe take a caffe or lunch together sometime. She says "You have your faith and I have mine.". Can't blame a girl I guess. Maybe I'll see her around...I don't want to change her....supposedly we have experienced the same God....can't we just talk about that?

Next Breanna, Jamie, and I decide to talk over what happened. We talk about different beliefs that are held in the cultural Roman Catholic mindset. We talk about how Christ is the only answer for their questions and also our own. What we are doing is so not normal. Of course not everyone is going to get it.

We headed down to the garden and ran into the Guys. Chat chat Chat. As they leave, they point out a girl who is sitting on bench all by her lonesome. And so we go.

Her name is Maria. She is a first year Scienza della informazione student (which means: she is studying education). She wants to be a Scuola Materna teacher (basically preschool- or headstart). She has two older brothers. She is vibrant and very welcoming. Easy to talk to. We tell her a bit about ourselves and why we are here. I ask her "Is there anything that makes you think there is or isn't a God...." She says " I don't think anyone can be sure". I tell her a bit about why I am sure. We talk about the importance of family in her life. We find out that her father just passed away in April. She let us in. We are hoping to take a lunch with her next week. She's got spunk. I want to be her friend. I want God to make Himself sure to her.

After we took a lunch we decided to grab a caffe and ran into some friends...and more friends...and more friends!!! I am so thankful for the warm welcome back!

Tomorrow I am hoping to see Silvia. I miss her.