Chiavari

This week I went to Chiavari, a city in the Ligurian region of Italy. It is the northwestern part of Italy along the seacoast. Simply put, it's fabulously beautiful. It reminded me of Sicily in the fact that it was a great combination of mountains and sea.

I was so surprised to see the Pope.

Went to the beach. It was beautiful! 

We went to another spot along the coast. Right after this picture, the wave behind us got us soaking wet.... haha... We did not realize it would come up that far, but the waves were pretty crazy that day.

This is the Walti family: Lee, Jeannette, Hannah (17), Jacob (15), Elijah (11), and Abby (7). What a beautiful family. Everyone is so unique. They also have a daughter who is living in Florida, Bethany (20).  

I have heard so much about this family through people I met here and also my stepmom. They lived in Udine for a few years. When they arrived in Udine, Lucy helped them a lot with figuring things out here. Now they moved to start a new ministry with Italian Ministries. They are planning to have ESL classes in February. They just moved there in September, so they are still figuring out the area, but it is simply beautiful. Their apartment is PERFECT! It has a football (soccer) stadium practically in their backyard. Free nightly entertainment! 

Before I left, Jeannette and I went to a neighboring city, Sestri Levante. They recently found this hidden treasure tucked away:

As always with train travel, I had my kindle. I explained to a lady on my way to Chiavari that there were 250+ books on my kindle. She couldn't believe it. She had never seen one before. It turns out we were on the same train TWICE! She was also on the same train on my way to Milano (to switch to another train)! Small world. 

So, I have my kindle, but I often put it down because Italians like to talk. haha... I've been open to what God has to show me through different people I meet. On the train to Milano I met Francesca and her husband Tomaso. 

2 1/2 hours on a train with her and we exchanged addresses. She invited me to her home! She told me about her family, her desire for God, her husband's tainted view of church because of how priests treated his family, and life in Italy. Oh and she lived in MICHIGAN 40 years ago! haha... I'm excited for my simple conversations on Italian trains. They are beautiful. 

But I did notice... on my next train to Venezia Mestre, I sat by three girls who were close to my age. Guess what we did? Talk? Uumm, no. They all whipped out their cell phones/ipods and went about their own business. So different from my previous train ride.

All that to say, Chiavari is beautiful. The Waltis are a fantastic family. God is working in Italy... and it makes me really excited!