This post was also written on 1 February 10...
Nicosia, Sicily
We stayed at a house where they take in and look after children from troubled homes. The ministry is called Il Faro (meaning "Lighthouse") and is the biggest Evangelical charity in Italy. It was started by Walter and Elizabeth from Switzerland when they were 20 or so. With stories such as theirs, I am more inspired by missionaries - such a heart.
Nicosia is the cutest little town. It's MIGHTY hilly though. A good workout just walking round and into the main town area. All the houses are pretty small and set in the hillside and very close to one another. Sooo beautiful.
Camy, Roos, Andy and Rafa went back to Catania on the 22nd to meet with some ladies at a prayer meeting. They have very little interaction with other Christians and I believe they were a real blessing to them. I did devotions that morning and we prayed for them as they travelled there and met with them. I felt it was a significant journey and the conditions they lived it were tough for those visiting - emotionally and spiritually. During devotions, I had a thought to give them a CD I was given in Messina with Italian worship songs and hope they've been able to enjoy it.
Meanwhile, Ashley, Serena, Abby, Dan and I had a movie night. Serena, Dan and I tried to get back into our accomodation at 1am but it was locked so we went back to where Abby and Ashley were and had a sleepover. The four of us also went exploring in an abandoned house. All the floors were smashed through and it looked like a safety risk big time, but that didn't stop the others from climbing around inside it. All I thought was, "Daddy, come to Sicily and build me a castle on a hill! So I can be in the serenity." :p
On the last night we were there, we organised an all-night of prayer and an hour for the kids. It was so much fun. We played "pass the parcel" which was my idea and I loved setting it up; a game where they had to dress someone in their team with all these different materials eg, toilet paper, plastic bags, card; the "Hai" game we learnt from Jenny during the lecture phase; and had face painting, balloons and dancing in the end.
The all-night prayer was organised by Will, Rafa and Andy. There were 6 cards with different prayer points about the organisation, leaders, volunteers, adopters and the children. We all took an hour slot praying, worshiping and asking God to speak to us. All the cards got filled with encouragements, bible verses and other words. It was a really awesome night.
We did a lot of practical work, mainly painting. The first work duty I did was weeding in the rain, it tested me. All about mindset, you gotta turn these things into joy. The others worked inside - preparing the hallway to be painted and painting two bedrooms. Now I don't know why but the thought of painting didn't float my boat. You get it all over your clothes, if you make a mistake it takes a bit to change or correct it. Then Dan, Andy and I then varnished the playground. The first time I really used a paint brush. I was so worried I wasn't doing it properly or correctly and kept asking Dan to check it. Then I got confident and went for it! It was so much fun and it looked awesome!
Then I wanted to help out inside in the bedrooms, cause I didn't want to do anymore outdoor work - it was cold. I attempted to sponge orange on a sun and then left Abby to it - she is sooo good with art. I started painting one of the hallways in a light yellow. That was heapsa fun too. Then it came the time to do the main hallway. They wanted to change the green to another colour and Angelo chose a bright purple, we did two coats. The following day we went to do a third coat and when we mixed it, it produced a light pink color. We couldn't believe it! It was so much lighter (you can see the photos on Facebook). We joked around saying God had a hand in it because the occupants were jokingly telling us they' were going to paint over the purple as soon as we left. I must admit, the purple was pretty bright, nice, but bright for a hallway I think.
We bought gifts for Walter, Elizabeth and the workers there. Dan then designed balloon baskets for them. So talented this husband of mine. Seriously though, anything Dan puts his hands to, he can do. Can be sometimes irritatingly great.
Ciao from Nicosia
Ellie Mc
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