The last week has been so full it is really quite difficult
to put into words.
4.12.12
L and I
drove to Atlanta from OKC. Long drive? Yes. I think it was about 15 hours… It
was also L’s birthday! We had fun listening to music and talking… Why were we
driving? That’s a very good question. We were transporting some large/awkwardly
shaped things from our OKC headquarters to our exhibit in Atlanta. Some of the
things we just didn’t want to take on the plane…
4.13.12
We did
some work at our ATL location and then caught our flight to Rome! It was a LONG
flight (at least for me, I think it was the longest I’ve been on at about 10
hours). Now, I don’t sleep on planes. I try, but I end up concentrating so hard
on trying to fall asleep, that sleep never comes. So I had fun watching a movie
about Shakespeare, and practicing Italian, and of course… trying to go to
sleep.
4.14.12
Somewhere
along the way there was a time change of 7 hours (from OKC, 6 from ATL). We
landed in Rome around 7am. Our driver from the airport to the hotel was
Russian! (There is actually a LOT of Russian here!) L and I settled in a little
bit and then met around 11ish to go see the exhibit, Verbum Domini. From there we went sight-seeing… we toured
the Vatican Museum where they had many amazing things on display! If I can
figure out how to post pictures, I will… Some of the highlights of the museum
for me were: Capella Sistina (Sistine Chapel), Mummies, Lots of sculptures,
Rafael’s paintings, including one which was the cover of my high school textbookJ. After the Museum, we
went into St. Peter’s Basilica. One word, WOW. We had dinner at a Chinese place
that had amazing Tiramisu! (How’s that for random?)
Mummy
Rafael's Painting
4.15.12
M
joined us on the evening of the 14. The three of us went to church at Rome
Baptist Church on Sunday morning. It was really neat. A multicultural English service.
The pastor even graduated from OBU! Go Bison! J
After church we went sight-seeing. We split up for a little bit and I went to
the Colosseum. I got a tour that took me into the basement, and up to the 3rd
floor! It was really neat! When we joined up again, we went to the Trevi fountain,
the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and then met up with the rest
of our team at a Restaurant on the Tiber River. Did I mention we walk
EVERYWHERE in Rome? In fact, I have not been in a transportation vehicle (other
than an elevator) since our Russian driver picked us up from the Airport. My feet
are sore and swollen, but it’s so worth it!
Colosseum
4.16.12
The work
begins! We began un-installing the exhibit, and honestly the day, and the next
few are a blur. We made great progress! The exhibit is in the Braccio di Carla
Magno, which is on a constant incline which makes things interesting sometimesJ. Oh, this day was also
the Pope’s Birthday!
The Pope had his Audience in the Square and this was the view from the Braccio
4.17-18.12
The work
and progress continue. Flexibility is the name of the game. Rome and the
Vatican have different holidays and different rules. For example, on the Pope’s
birthday we were given a 20min notice that we needed to leave. Then we ended up
being able to stay another 4 hours. On Wed, we were not supposed to be able to
come in until after noon, and were able to come in at 8am. Then Thursday, we
were not allowed in at all because it was a Vatican holiday (the 7 year
anniversary of the Pope’s appointment to office).
4.19.12
Since we
were not able to work at the exhibit, we went…. You guessed it, sight-seeing! M,
L, and I went to a really neat place called Basilica San Clemento. It was an
amazing piece of history! The top layer (ground floor) was an 11th
century Basilica with beautiful paintings and ornate tile floors. The second
layer (one level down) was a 4th century church. I think it was
orthodox because there was at least one mosaic with Russian writing on it! It
was from the Byzantium time I think… not really sure because most of the
descriptions were in Italian. Anyway, I thought the writing might have been
Greek, because Russian and Greek share a lot of letters, but L took Greek and
said it wasn’t quite right…regardless, it was cool! The 3rd layer (2
levels down) was a 1st century alleyway, with a school, a temple to
a Roman god, and a house that had been converted to a church!!! A 1st
century house church! That would be like some of the first Christians! I couldn’t
help but think of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. It was really amazing!
After Basilica San Clemento, we had lunch and then went our separate ways. I climbed
the 321 steps to the top of the Cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica. I could have
walked up 500+ steps, but I opted to pay the additional 2 Euro and take the
elevator as high as it wentJ.
The view was amazing though, and even though I did get pictures, they do not do
it justice! In the evening, we had an appreciation dinner with all the
individuals and entities involved in the collaborative efforts of the exhibit.
It was a really special time.
View from the Cuopola
4.20.12
Today!
We sealed all the item crates today! Now we have only to pack the display
mounts and supplies. (By "we" I mean L, M, and myself, we have others
on our team that are taking down and packing all the sets for the rooms. They
have a little bit more to do).All in all, we are making GREAT progress, and are
all planning to take Sunday off to rest. We need to be completely done by
Tuesday evening. We fly back to ATL on Wednesday, where M, L, and I will work
for 4 days at our exhibit there.
M and L at dinner tonight :)
So far, it’s been a great trip!
I really do appreciate your prayers, and God is answering!
I had really hoped to have some profound reflections to share
or some significant insight… but I don’t. At least, not yet formed into words.
There is so much to process… I am praying for God to teach me on this trip, but
I’m beginning to wonder if the lessons will be in hindsight. It’s odd; I don’t “feel”
God’s presence like I have in the recent past. I KNOW He is there and very
present! I KNOW He is working and answering prayer… but I just feel like we are
distant. I don’t understand it, and have been praying for understanding and closeness
with Him. It’s almost like I’m self-sufficient and am not reaching out to Him,
yet at the same time, I WANT HIM! Bizarre, and I don’t like it. I don’t want to
be self-sufficient. I don’t want to think I can do things on my own… life is so
much better when I walk in step with Him, and in constant fellowship and dependence
on Him… I’m going to be more intentional
about seeking His face, and making time to read and study even through the
exhaustion….
Anyway, that’s about it for now J it’s a quarter past 10pm, so I’m
going to get started on that Bible Study and go to bed. I’m excited to Skype my
whole family in the morning! Well, it will be 6:30 am for me, and 11:30pm for
them…
Ciao!
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