Ryan Douglas Jarboe

VBS

On Saturday we has a VBS for the children in Prato and the surrounding area. We spent the morning decorating and preparing. In the mid-afternoon the kids started arriving. After passing out name tags we sang songs and split into three groups. The three groups studied different stories of Jesus and did various worksheets. They had a snack then played games to reinforce what they had learned. We then had dinner with everyone. We had 21 kids and they all had a blast. Check out the pictures here.

A Sermon and A Special Annoucement

This morning at church I had the great priveledge of speaking for the chuch in Prato. In Italian. It was such a great honor to share with and encourage the church here. Even better news is that we had a new family join us for an English service. I was able to speak twice for my Christian family.

For my special annoucment I'd like to let everyone know that I will be returning the 14th October. I'm going to be moving back to Lubbock to start the job hunt. I plan on beginning at Texas Tech in the spring. Please pray for me in this time of goodbyes and transitions.

Romanian Travels

The past two weeks have been a great time in Romania. We have been able to share our faith and help people learn English. It has been a challenge for me to step out of my comfort zone but God has given me the strength to persevere. We were able to reader with 24 people and spend some time with the church. I have grow in these two weeks and hope that some of my readers have grown as well.

Let's Start Talking in Romania

I am currently in Romania and will be here for the next two weeks. I am here on a Let's Start Talking (LST) project. The LST program is a evangelical tool that uses the Bible to teach English. On this team are my mom, my dad, and my AIM teammate, Josie. We are meeting readers who are interested in learning English and they get to read the story of Jesus. It is a very exciting time for us right now. Be praying for God to send us reader and for us to be good examples to these people.

Cinghiale (Wild Boar)

To my frequent readers and those with good memories this my seem like a re-run. Every year there is a festival for wild boar held in the mountains of Tuscany. Last year this was one of the first events we went to with the church. Now here we are going again and enjoying it twice as much. We had a great time eating wonderful food and enjoying the mountain air. Here's the pictures of our day. https://picasaweb.google.com/RyanDouglasJarboe/Cinghiale

My Trip Home

Recently I had the opportunity to visit home. I was able to see my family and friends. I was even able to attend my friends', Jake and Kristen, wedding. It was so great to be with them as they started their life together. It was very good for me to visit home and have some time of relaxation.

The Kebab Shop Gang

Near the church is a nice restaurant that makes great kebabs. All the workers are Pakistani and very nice to us. We have become loyal regulars and they enjoy seeing us come in to enjoy a meal. They asked us if we could help them improve their English. We had our first meeting with them today. They all speak English surprisingly well. We just had a conversation about different thing. We talked about their families and Pakistan. One of the workers is named Solhel. We learned that he has been in Italy for six years and he left behind a wife and two kids. He came to Italy for work but misses his family greatly. He works 15 hour day every day of the week. It breaks my heart to hear of what he has to endure to support himself and his family. I ask that you pray for the people in the kebab shop. Pray for our relationship with them and our influence on them. These people are foreigners in a strange land and only have each other. Some have left behind families, some left behind friends but all came to Italy looking for work and a better life.

My English Student

One of our ministries is to offer free conversational English lessons. We have passed out fliers and have had some response. Osiris and I are teaching a man form Senegal who knows French, Italian, and some English. His name is Lamine. We are helping him improve his English and creating a friendship along the way. We meet with him twice a week; Once to study and another to just talk so he can practice speaking English. We are praying that we will be able to study the Bible with him in the future. I ask that you pray for Lamine and our relationship with him.

Making Ravioli

Recently, the team was able to join in an traditional Italian activity, handmaking pasta. Anto's mother, Marisa, taught us to make ravioli. She started by making a ricotta and herb filling then started making the dough. After tediously kneading the dough we jumped in to help make it into flat strips. We used a hand-cranked pasta roller that flattened the dough to the desired thickness. When the dough was flattened Marisa started placing the filling, cutting and sealing the raviolis. When the raviolis where sealed we poked hole in them with needled and pressed all the air out of the inside. It was so much fun to learn to make pasta. The best part is that tomorrow we get to eat it.

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Buona Pasqua

With the youth meeting in Bologna and Easter this weekend was very busy. Sunday evening we went over to Mike and Anto's for Easter dinner. We were joined by Roger and Heather from Pistoia. That evening we had a enormous meal with chicken, turkey, sausage, and, the Italian Easter tradition, lamb. For dessert we had the other traditional Easter food, a simple cake with almonds and sugar on top. The last event was the giving of the eggs. The eggs here are big, made of chocolate, and have a small gift inside. For the kids the eggs are equal to stockings on Christmas.

Monday we headed over to Roger and Heather's house in Pistoia for lunch. Again we had lamb and a big meal. The kids played and the adults sat in the sun and talked. It is always great to be with my Christian family to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

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