Cena di Ringraziamento, Agape Lunch at Forte Torre and Christmas in Bologna

Our Thanksgiving outreach event several weeks ago marked the beginning of holiday activities here in Bologna. With the help of a group from Minnesota, we managed to host 200 people total for two Thanksgiving dinners (November 24th and 25th)! Thank you for your prayers. We were encouraged to see so many people attend these events--several new friends from outside Bologna even went to the trouble of commuting into the city just for Thanksgiving dinner. We spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving week preparing massive amounts of turkey, mashed potatoes, pies, stuffing, and everything else that comes along with Thanksgiving dinner. Italians are fascinated with Thanksgiving, and this holiday provides a great opportunity to talk with people about thankfulness and the history of the holiday. Italians also typically eat their meals in courses. "Primi piatti," or first courses, typically consist of pasta or a soup. "Primi piatti" are followed by "secondi piatti" (second course--usually meat or fish), possibly a "contorno" (side dish--usually vegetables), finally "dolce" (dessert) and "cafe" (espresso). The idea of placing all of these foods (or dishes) on one plate, as we do in America, is so strange to them. This is one of the many things that they find interesting at Thanksgiving.

Our whole group after a full day of cooking--Jon, Peg, and Eddie Anderson along with Kate Wenzel came all the way from Minnesota to help with the Thanksgiving dinner outreach. Steve and Cindy Thompson are TEAM missionaries here in Italy. Andy and Linda Brucato are TEAM missionaries and have been in Bologna with Nuova Vita for about 30 years. Linda Ambrus also works with TEAM at Nuova Vita and works closely alongside Agape.

Linda, Ashley, Tricia and Emily making sweet potato casserole

Ashley, Tricia and I trying our best to stay warm--the ovens provided a needed break from the cold Bologna temperatures

Jesse after a long day of cooking. We've had a lot of fun as team, and it's amazing what parts of people's personalities come out after three full days of Thanksgiving preparation : ) 

Jesse and Matt after a long day in the kitchen

Ashley and Emily cutting pumpkin, apple and pecan pies to serve to guests.  This year also marked Emily's first Thanksgiving experience. 

The church that our STINT team is attending, Forte Torre, also hosted an "Agape Lunch" during the same week as Thanksgiving. All of the church members came together for a potluck lunch after the service. Though our church is very small (maybe 20 members), we enjoyed this time to spend time together.

Everyone eating lunch together

Everyone from Forte Torre together for a group picture after lunch. Our pastor, J.P. (in the purple sweater in the back) and his wife, Sue (in the purple shirt in the front) are from the UK and have been in Bologna for about 4 years.

We have continued meeting with students we have met on campus and building on these relationships. As the fall semester is coming to a close, many of the students are busy preparing for exams in December and January. In Italy, students must take exams over all of the material presented in the class over the course of the semester--their grades depend on one comprehensive exam. Many of them are feeling pressure as they study for tests. Today, we will be preparing for a Christmas party for students tonight at the Hannah's apartment. Next week will be our final week on campus before taking a break for the holidays.

Here are a few pictures from Bologna's chocolate festival, as promised, and some pictures of the lights that are up for Christmas in the city center.

Chocolate shoes on sale at the chocolate festival in Piazza Maggiore a few weeks ago

One of the Due Torre in the city center decorated for Christmas

The Christmas tree in Piazza Maggiore

Making Christmas cookies before watching White Christmas at Jesse and Tricia's last Saturday

Ashley and Emily making Christmas cookies at Jesse and Tricia's

 Thank you so much for your prayers--our team is so grateful for your prayer support, and here are several new requests:

• Praise God for all of the guests at the Thanksgiving dinner and please continue to pray for those who have indicated that they are interested in studying scripture and learning about Christ. Praise God for how smoothly everything went at the dinner.
• Praise God for the number of students we've had the opportunity to interact with this year--those who have been in Bologna for a long period of time continue to remark on how God is moving in this city. 
• Please also praise God that my dad came home from the hospital on the Monday before Thanksgiving!! He is still recovering, and this will take some time, but my family is so thankful that he is home--and so grateful for your prayers. Please continue to pray for him as he heals.
• Please continue to pray for students who are interested in learning more about their faith and for those we are building relationships with. Pray that God would bless our times together and that students who don't know Christ would come to know Him. Pray for students we have met who are searching for answers. Pray for wisdom as we plan for the Spring semester in Bologna.
• Please continue to pray for Italy as a whole. Berlusconi recently went out of power, and this has led to interesting conversations with students.
• Please pray for our Christmas events through Agape and the churches in the city. Pray that God would bring students to these event and work through conversations.
• Please pray for our team as several other team members have had family members with medical problems. Pray for us especially as we deal with these things away from home during the holidays. 

 Ciao,

Elizabeth
John 10:10