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Washing Feet

“We are going to go to the day shelter and give women beauty treatments.  Want to come?  You might be helping with haircuts, or painting nails…I think there might even be a massage therapist there. “

I found myself saying that I would go.  A few days later when we arrived I found myself giving pedicures and that means that I was washing feet.  There were homeless women with missing teeth, homeless mommas, and homeless teenagers.  For the most part they fit the stereotype.  For the most part.  They are people.

And while I wasn’t expecting to be washing feet, just painting toenails, there was a bigger surprise waiting.  See this had been set up as a way to serve women in the community, but the men wanted to be a part as well.  And there was a man who sat down at my station.  His feet needed to be washed.  And I sat there, with the tub in front of me and washed and scrubbed and rubbed lotion on his worn, callused feet.

I also had the opportunity to wash a pregnant woman’s feet and paint a frilly French pedicure that day.  She had her daughter about 8 years old with her.  It was pink for the little girl and a deep foot rub for her momma.  It was humbling.

 

Today I was thinking about Easter.  It’s one of the most important holidays as a Christian.  At the last supper Jesus washes the disciples’ feet.  It says {he} rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13.4-5

Have you ever washed someone’s feet?  It’s humbling, on the part of the receiver.  It’s a gift that is a symbol and an act.  When we wash our feet we are preparing them to do work.  Our feet work the hardest and receive the least attention, at least mine do.

We are called to be hands and feet.  Tangible work.  It’s through the gospel that this work acquires meaning and we are humbled. 

How beautiful are the feet that bring Good News Romans 10.15

So as we come towards the last supper I am going to be looking down…at my feet.  In reverence, in awe.

Livin' with Purpose

Yesterday I felt like I got nothing done but I ran around like a busy bee.  I can tell you what I was doing at almost every moment of the day…scary

Yesterday I thought about life.  I pondered what I’m holding onto, maybe a little too tightly.  I’m learning to let go.  It’s a beautiful thing.

Yesterday I got to realize that I knew more than my professor on a particular subject. 

Example: Dear Professor, if you are weighing whether I might know what I’m talking about when I say something about the EU, know that I have studied and lived there for a semester.  You on the other hand have presented only limited, and somewhat skewed information on your PowerPoint slide {yes singular slide}. I would say I know what I’m talking about.  Oh and you have that fact wrong… 

{talked about here and here}

 

Usually I’m not so disrespectful of my teachers or people in my life in general {even if I am talking in my head}. 

 

I think that it was a good wake up call.  I lived something amazing a year ago.  And it saddens me to know that it has been that long.  It’s been a year.  But I learned so much.  I lived so much.

I want to live like I lived there; with purpose, in the moment.  I knew that that moment may not come back again.  And that’s not to say that I want to be a busy bee all the time.  I want to be intentional and live with purpose.  And I want to learn.

Lessons for today, give your professor the benefit of the doubt…even when you feel like you know more, keep an open mind for future classes, and ask lots of questions to get as much information!

Reliving Christmas Day

If you haven’t read about Christmas Eve scroll down and read that. Then this will make more sense. This will wait…

Christmas day dawned in Italy and we slept in again. Can you blame us when we walked home from Mass? After arriving we did a little skype session with some family members {ok, not my family members but I met Megan and Brenda’s!}. Christmas we went for a walk to the Pantheon because we were hoping to go in. They did not adhere to their hours so I didn’t get to see inside. Well that’s not true; I took a peek through the door.
We took lots of pictures {which I don’t currently have in my possession} because the lighting was excellent! And then we kept walking. We ended up by the Trevi fountain and enjoying the sunshine.

On our way back to the flat we had lunch at a trattoria, or small family run restaurant. It was so delicious. We enjoyed bruchetta and penne alla vodka. Yum! After our walk we had some down time to relax and enjoy the day.

It wasn’t long before we went on our “night walk” which we started at 4.45pm because that was when it was getting dark. We combined a path I had and good ol’ Rick Steve’s “heart of Rome walk”. Along the way we saw a fountain that was a face that looked like it was spitting at you and ran into a carnival. The carnival was set up in the piazza that they used to flood in the summer and use to act out naval battles.

We ended at the Spanish steps. Before this we took our time going past the Trevi fountain. Can you say crowded? It was fun though. I got to take a picture for an older Italian couple. They were so cute together! We also got gelato at the most famous gelato shop in Rome. They were busy and it was so cold outside! {we are so crazy and silly!}

After getting back to the flat we ate dinner which was Pho. It was a multi cultural day! I got to skype with my family and then we went for a last gelato run. My last gelato run in Italy I am sad to say. And yes you read correctly, I had gelato twice on Christmas. I joke {but am somewhat serious} when I say that it was my Christmas gift to myself.
I really truly am almost done with my adventures in Italy. We have 2 more episodes…the half day in Rome and getting home. Can you stick with me? How is 2012 treating ya’ll?

Reliving Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve day was amazing. We took our time getting ready and got up a little later because we were preparing for the late night and long day ahead. When we finally left the apartment we headed to the metro and the Vatican where we had been the night before.
We made our tour of the Vatican museum. The Catholic Church is considered a culture or people group and they have enormous wealth. The museum had statues and famous paintings. You could tell if they were created before the pope of modesty or after by the tactfully placed fig leaf. I think it was more distracting than doing its job. I love art museums
We saved the best for last. The Sistine chapel. Make an in awe face and you will know what it felt like to walk in. Have you been there? It is worth it! I love that I can appreciate the art and the huge sacrifice and effort it took to paint that ceiling. What a legacy that Michelangelo left. It also helped that I have knowledge of the Bible to fully understand the panels and sequence. I love that it wasn’t perfect.

The museum closed in preparation as we were finishing. It was setting up the anticipation of the night for me. We stopped at a little restaurant and ate a big lunch {at 3pm} to be used as lunch and dinner. After our meal we rounded the corner and found the line for the Christmas Eve Mass. It was already quite long and it was about 4.15pm when we got in line.
Throughout the in line process we made friends with the Canadian couple behind us and the English couple behind them. And then there was an American couple behind them that had taught at the Danish Institute. In front of us were a mother and two daughters from Poland. The daughters were so sweet and talked with us about their schooling system and how excited that they were to be here for this service. In front of them was a group of the men of the cloth. We met the family and couple in front of them as well. We made lots of friends!

This networking turned out to be crucial for us getting into the building as a unit. So many people cut in line. The nuns and the older people are the worst. I hope that I do not ever feel that I am entitled to something in that way. It is amazing to me that people who call themselves Christians {and yes they claim that they are Christians, they were asked} would be willing to cheat and lie to get into the basilica for mass.

During the line process we ate snacks and switched off to go the bathroom and changed clothes. We had quite the system going on. And then it was time 4.5 hours later to be like herded cattle going through the gates to get through security and hopefully {although it seemed highly likely by our place in line} to make it to seats in the basilica.

We made it and had good seats. We sat next to our new polish friends and could see the Pope as he floated down the aisle {no, he was not a bride, but I realized it sounded like that}. The entire service I could see the Pope and his address was done so well. He had people of many nations read passages from the bible. There was French, English, Portuguese, Korean, Hungarian, Polish, Spanish and few others. The basilica was lit up even more brightly than the day before. Half the service was sung by the choir in Latin. It’s amazing how close the Latin and Italian are so I could understand most of the service.After the service ended it was already officially Christmas in Italy! We walked home through Rome’s streets and got to see all kinds of fun lights hung through the main part of town. It was a late night but what an experience!
What is something that you would give up Christmas with your family to have the opportunity to do or experience? Would you give up Christmas?

*There are no pics of me because they were taken on my friend's camera. She also has a closer picture of the Pope that I will share with you when I can.

Shell Shocked

So Rome day 2 is coming. With the lovely epic Christmas Eve service story. But this is just to tell you that I am still here. I am thinking in blogging terms as I go through my day.
This week I have been going to classes, making a new schedule and seeing old friends. My first day of school I think I had every emotion. But in a way it didn’t even matter. It was a good day. I’m still settling in and having some culture shock.
The cars are bigger, the houses and buildings shorter and everyone speaks English. I know it’s crazy that people would generally speak English!
Those are just a few of the things I think of when I ride the bus or walk down the street.

I made my first homemade cappuccino today. There were multiples. They were a hit with the roomies.