Pretty uneventful month so far. I have been really sick from the pregnancy, so we haven’t done much. It has been good timing, however, since most of the people from church have left either for good or for vacation, so things are pretty slow right now anyways. Not just at church, but in Italy in general. Italians take the whole month of August off for holiday. It’s like a ghost town around here! Most of the business are closed, and most people head for the lakes or the sea. I’ve never seen anything like it.
While most Italians take off during August because of the heat and lack of AC, this August has been amazing cool and beautiful. We’ve actually seen the mountains several days and have only needed the portable AC for one day this whole month.
A huge praise and answered prayer….we have found an English speaking OBGYN! We found out that even though we are apart of the Italian health system, nearly all OBGYN’s are considered private doctors even though they work out of the public hospitals and therefore, you have to pay to see them. So, we decided to pay the same amount of money and go to a private clinic that works with Internationals. Not only do the doctors speak English, but the entire staff does as well! We have had one visit and have been so impressed! The staff is so friendly and helpful. We feel so blessed to have found this clinic. Praise the Lord! Thank you to everyone who has been praying about this for us.
Posted in Life in Italia.
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By jstewart830
– 18 August, 2010
Spent the week in France with some friends at the home of one of the young adults from ICM. We drove along the French Riviera to get to her home near Avignon. It was a beautiful drive!
Sarah and her parents were so hospitable, and we had such sweet fellowship with them! We got to see some interesting historical places and some quaint little French towns. Ate some great food. And I celebrated my 25th birthday in France. So cool! Thank you Lord for such sweet blessings!
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By jstewart830
– 18 August, 2010
We have spent the last week in one of the most beautiful places we have had the privilege to see on earth. Interlaken Switzerland. Wow! Unfortunately, we went off and left the camera behind so not too many pictures to show for it!
We and Jim and Karen spent the week up there at a conference for international churches from all around Europe. It was a great time of fellowship and worship with brothers and sisters in Christ from all over Europe. We had some great teaching/preaching and it was just an over-all encouraging time for us.
Posted in Ministry, travel.
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By jstewart830
– 18 August, 2010
The last few days have been quite over-whelming as we embark upon the process of having a baby in a foreign country. While our visit to our english speaking/Christian GP doctor friend in Binasco was fine, we were basically given a bunch of information and told to start doing everything on our own…going to a separate clinic for blood work and finding our own hospital/OBGYN in Milano. While we can get by with our Italian in some social settings, the medical field is a whole new thing. So, on Wednesday morning we go to the clinic to do a blood test. The whole thing is quite comical actually…they are only open from 7:45am-9:30am, they do not take appointments but go by a first-come-first serve routine which actually means that it’s every man for himself trying to survive the little old Italian ladies who are much more fierce than their stature leads one to believe. They are cut-throat and will take advantage of every person they can just to be in line first, no matter whether they were first, tenth, or last in line. Well, we managed to survive the chaos that is Italy and got our place in line. Nobody there speaks English. The administrative workers were so friendly, but the lady that actually takes my blood…lol…well let’s just say that Tyler has lovingly dubbed her the “Vampire Lady.” And so it begins…
Posted in Life in Italia.
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By jstewart830
– 21 July, 2010
So, we found out today that we are pregnant. I almost can’t believe it! We have been hoping for this for some time now and God has sovereignly chosen now to pour out His blessing on us in this way. We couldn’t be more excited! Children are blessings, not burdens and we cannot wait to start this chapter of our lives!
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By jstewart830
– 21 July, 2010
Today we left for Firenze with Mom and Dad. The drive down trough Tuscany was lovely! We stayed at an agriturismo called Fattoria Settemerli just 15 minutes from the city center of Florence and at the edge of the Chianti region. The agriturismo was amazing! If you ever go to Firenze, I would highly recommend it. The view was great, the rooms were clean and rustic, but the best part was the staff. They were lovely and so helpful!
After getting settled in, we headed into the city and explored some and had dinner at a lovely restaurant on Via S. Spirito. It was a nice street to explore with lots of lovely shops.
On Friday morning, Tyler and I headed into the city a bit early and went to Piazzale Michelangelo where there is a lookout over the city. The view was great. Then we met Mom and Dad for lunch and went to the Galleria dell’ Accademia to see the David statue. Yes, it is as grand and mind blowing as everyone says it is. Worth paying the money to see. Then we went to the Duomo.
The evening wasn’t so great. We ate at another restaurant on the west side of the Arno and were treated very rudely by our waiter. It made for an unpleasant evening. But I made my complaint to the head waiter and we left and got some gelato and the evening ended up okay. So, don’t ever eat at Il Santo Bevitore…not worth it.
Saturday morning we checked out of our rooms and headed into the city one last time. We went to the famous San Lorenzo Market. It was so much fun! Lots of leather goods and beautiful linens. Then we jumped in the car and drove back by way of Genova so that Mom and Dad could see the Mediterranean Sea.
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By jstewart830
– 27 June, 2010
Mom and Dad arrived early this morning in Milano. We brought them back to Binasco and settled in a bit. Then we took them into the city to see some things in an effort to keep them awake so that they can get over the jet lag quickly. My mom got to ride her first metro. We took them to Grand Italia, a pizza place. Then we went to the Galleria and to the Duomo. We climbed to the top of the Duomo and got a great view of the city.
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By jstewart830
– 27 June, 2010
My parent’s were to arrive today but after a huge delay and finally a cancelation of their flight, they are now stuck in New York over night. They will arrive, Lord willing tomorrow morning.
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By jstewart830
– 27 June, 2010
This morning we headed back to Italy with Becky (so she could fly out of Milano). The weather was much better for the ride home, nice and sunny. The mountains were gorgeous! Every few miles you could spot a castle nestled up in the mountains and the mountainsides were laced with vineyards. It was such a wonderful trip!
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By jstewart830
– 27 June, 2010
After Becky finished her last day of work, we drove to the next town over, Montreux, which is on the east side of Lake Geneva. While it was another rainy day, it was still great fun. We toured our first castle, Château de Chillon. It was so big! Very fascinating…much of the castle dated back to the 13th century. After that, we walked along the lake and explored Montreux a bit. Saw what seemed to be a random statue of Freddie Mercury (not so random after we found out he lived there for a time and they have a memorial day in honor of him each year), and had a nice dinner. We were in the French speaking part of Switzerland. Thankfully Becky can speak French, otherwise Tyler and I would have just been confusing tourists trying to communicate in English and/or very poor Italian. French is so hard to pronounce, I don’t think I could get the accent down if I tried.
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By jstewart830
– 27 June, 2010
