New Friends

Yesterday, I invited the two newest members of our team, Chelsea and Brittany, over to learn to knit. Before we could start learning, we had to go find a store that sold yarn and knitting needles. The first store we went to did not have what we were looking for, but tried to point us in the correct direction to a store that might have these particular items. On our way to that store, we saw some yarn in the window of another store. We were warmly greeted upon entering and the young lady helping us tried to speak English when she knew the word. Hearing the three of us discussing which yarn to purchase in English, an older lady approached us and spoke to us in perfect English. I was completely shocked. After talking for only a few minutes, our new friend, Luciana, had invited us to her house that afternoon for dessert. We exchanged numbers and purchased our knitting supplies and returned to my house.

That afternoon, I took Chelsea with me on what turned out to be a wild goose chase, because my phone has horrible reception and I could hardly understand what Luciana was saying over the phone. But after several phone calls and two different metro transportation rides (only one of which was actually necessary) we finally made it to Luciana's house. The entire time we were there, there were people coming and going. Kids from other apartments in her building just dropping by to see her, other neighbors coming to say hi. She spoke to them in Italian and she spoke very slow and articulated each word. Once she finished talking with her neighbors, she would turn to us to make sure we understood what the conversation was about. She told us that she wanted us to feel like her house is open and that we can come and go as we please.

What a wonderful and sweet time with a new friend. The dessert that she made was incredible. Chelsea was smart enough to ask for her recipe, which Luciana gladly shared with us. We hope to return to her house for another visit very soon. Please begin praying for Luciana. Pray that God would speak to her in a special way and that we would be bold in sharing Christ with her in the future.