Thanksgiving Newsletter (November 2004)
Happy Earthquake…I Mean Thanksgiving!
Dear Family, Friends, and Faithful Supporters,
Just wanted to say “Happy Thanksgiving!” to all of you over there. We definitely have mixed emotions today…well okay, to be completely honest, Allyson has already done quite a bit of crying this week. We’ve joked with some relatives that we want to hear what a horrible time everyone is having together this week and today.
As we’ve thought this week and today of so many things to be thankful for, we can’t help but stop and be truly amazed at the blessings we’ve received here:
· Provision of a paid apartment, vehicle & public transportation passes, language school tuition, medical insurance, and a monthly paycheck thanks to the more then generous Southern Baptists who so lovingly support us with their finances.
· A healthy toddler! Jake has not had one major sickness since we’ve been here.
· The language is coming.
· The Italians who are becoming friends.
· Family who is SO positive and loving, despite the incredible sacrifices our relatives have to make in us being apart from one another, especially from the grandbaby.
· Truly amazing friends and prayer warriors who stick with us through all the tears, “basket case moments”, and all the ups and downs of our experiences here.
· Every single care package we’ve received, especially when we know they often cost more to ship than the actual goodies inside.
· The things God has taught and shown us during these 7 months so far. There are many ways in which we are forever changed.
Just to let you know, there was an earthquake that came through Milan at midnight (this morning). We can’t believe it either!!! We were both up in the living room and were shocked that our whole apartment building was moving from side to side for seconds. Our building is 9 stories high, and we’re on the third floor. It’s obviously the first one either one of us have ever experienced, and it was quite scary to say the least. The epicenter of the quake hit only 58 miles from Milan, and the quake measured a 5.2 on the Richter scale. Praise the Lord that there were no major injuries, and we’re obviously more than grateful that it wasn’t any worse. (Click for more info: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4040531.stm)
Like most countries around the world, Thanksgiving is not celebrated here. It’s just been another normal week over here, and we still have classes each day. In fact, it’s been a strange week if anything…especially now with the earthquake. Last Thursday in Milan, at two different times, there were two men who committed suicide by jumping on the subway tracks in front of the train. Jason caught the subway in the morning just in time to see the body of the first man being carried away from underground at our stop. On Monday of this week, Jason arrived at school to find out that a girl in his class had committed suicide in her Milan apartment over the weekend. There is much despair and hopelessness here in our city. We are so grateful that we know the One who holds all hope and joy for us! There is a lot of work to do, though.
We’re grateful that this evening we’ll be able to have a dinner with our team leaders and five other Americans. Please know that we miss all of you bunches, especially our family and close friends. We just wanted to touch base with y’all on this special day. Attached are pictures of us taken this afternoon, in addition to one showing a normal food item seen in grocery stores right now. Italians don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but they do eat pig arms (called zampone) as a normal item in meals during this season.
Instead of us thinking about all that we’re missing out on right now back home, we thought we’d let all of you see what you’re missing out on – HA! When you think about it, it’s really not that strange: Americans eat turkey legs, Italians eat pig arms.
Grateful for His blessings,
The Greenwiches
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