Hello all. I am back in Graf after 10 days in Italy. It feels like everytime I write to you it is right after I have returned from somewhere. I was at a Club Beyond staff conference and training with all of the club beyond staff in Europe. It was a really good trip. I feel like I learned quite a bit during the trainings, from topics such as the differences of high school and middle school ministry, leading small groups, time management, running weekend retreats and more. My favorite thing about the trip was time spent w/ my peers. It was great hanging out w/ them, talking about how we run clubs, getting new ideas, bouncing ideas off of each other, but also just spending time together w/ people who go through the same things as me. I have grown really close to some of them and I really appreciate the time I get with them. It was especially nice doing so without students around. When I see other staff from different communities on trips, I don't get to really talk with them because my priority is spending times w/ my students. So it was nice just being able to hang out as friends.
We stayed just outside of Pisa. I went one morning and saw the leaning tower. I have always been amused by how people make such a big deal out of it. To me it seems like a celebration of workers incompetence. They failed at building a tower that stands upright. But it was cool to see. I do not feel the need to see it again though. Where we stayed was right on the beach, so I got some good beach time in inbetween the trainings. I really miss being by the water. There was a town nearby, Marina di Pisa, which was gorgeous. White rocky beach, rocks that you could walk out on, beautiful water, it was great to spend an afternoon there. We also took a day to go to Cinque Terre, which means the five lands. There are 5 towns connected by paths, and it is amazingly beautiful. I went hiking there between some of the towns. My favorite part was cliff diving. Cliff might be too grand a word. It was really a big rock, 40 or 50 feet up maybe. A few of us went and jumped off for about an hour. We got a failry big crowd watching us and people taking pictures. A restaurant from overhead threw down a few Coke's for us since we were serving as entertainment for their customers. It was fun.
We also went to a vineyard, who's owners are big in Youth for Christ in Italy. They were an amzing family. We got a tour of the vineyard while Giovanni (the Dad) gave a great talk about the vine and the branches and really helped bring what Jesus talked abot to life for us. They also made us an amazing lunch. If you think about Tuscany, and eating in Italy and idealize it, that is exactly what that experience was. But more than food or location, it was a day of talking about what God has done for us and what he is doing in us right now. People in youth ministry get burnt out very easily, and having a day like that was extremely refreshing.
On the way back to Germany a few of us went to Florence for a day. No biggie. Saw Michelangelo's David statue (which is amazing) went and some other works of amazing art at the Uffizi, the big art gallery there, and just enjoyed the city.
No new news about ministry here in Graf since I have been gone for a week and a half. As soon as there is new news, I will let you know. As I look back at some of my posts, it seems like all I do is travel. One of the many great things about my job is that I get to do so much travel as work and with students. In the coming blog posts, I will be sure to include more daily things from here in Graf, so you have that to look forward to.
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