It is hard to believe that we have been in Italy for 2 years already. It has been 2 years since March 31st. So, I will be starting from April 1st 2023. We are always learning here. Adamo tried last year to grow a garden to try and reduce the cost of the grocery bill, but we found the water was really expensive. It is cheaper to buy from the grocery store. He still grows his herbs. In May, three of us finished up language school for the year and had to take tests. Culture shock hits us all at different times and with different intensities. It seems to hit when we are going through a tough time. Our son was really struggling in May through middle of June. I was struggling as well but differently than my son. I was more burned out and exhausted from school, expectations, and helping my son. In June, Adamo and I decided to take a break from life and focus on our family and our health. It was the best decision we could have made. The break lasted until October 1st. The past 2 years were so stressful we needed to stop. Adamo and I walked a lot. We walked though out the day and it was between 4 miles on a slow day and up to 10 miles on a good day. I had lost all of the weight that I had gained from medications, surgeries, and stress. We had a great time talking. It was so helpful to help us process all that we have been through. In July, my name was officially changed in Italy to Lentini like in the USA. It makes transferring medical records much easier if everything is the same. In August, we finally found our families happy place. The boys wanted to go to the beach so bad because they had not been to the beach before. Three of the boys were born in Los Angeles but they were too little to remember the ocean and Leonardo was born in Colorado. I didn't want to go to Viareggio because I just don't like it. We decided to go visit Camaiore then go to Lido di Camaiore. Well, I missed the turn to go to the center of Camaiore. The boys just wanted to go to the beach so we went. We loved it at Lido di Camaiore. We went 3 more times. We had so much fun as a family swimming in the sea together! If we could afford it we would move there. :) In September, is when Adamo got pulled over for the smog check on the car. Adamo didn't know when it was due. In the process he got another ticket for the fact that he had been a resident for over 1 year and didn't have his Italian license. Thankfully they did not impound the car. They took his American license. We found out we could not drive the car. It was a blessing in disguise and the Lord had been preparing us for this. All of the walking we had done helped us a lot. We were in much better shape to be walking everywhere. It also motivated us to work on getting our license. If that hadn't happened we would have been too comfortable to make us study. The down side is that it did take a toll on my health. Yes, I was in better health and shape but I was using so much energy just to get from point A to point B that I would hit high levels of fatigue and flare often. October we had to put Leonardo in school. It is legal to homeschool but until he is 16 he would have to do the end of the year test and it is in Italian. I knew I could not get him prepared enough to pass it. Putting your kids in school here is a process. It was definitely a hard mom moment. We had also gotten bicycles to help with getting to destination faster. Well....it cured me from ever wanting to drive a moped. I had a teacher in my language school who was frustrated with bicyclists one day and said they should be licensed. I think if he was behind me he would hate me. :) To ride a bicycle you have to not care about anything. The problem is I care too much. I know the mindset of drivers about bicyclist so I feel bad to be on the road and I just want to get off the road and not be in their way. Adamo told me with that attitude I would get myself killed. Well......I fell 2 times once in the lane of traffic thankfully a bus was stopped blocking the lane of traffic, almost hit a car and a car almost hit me. The car almost hitting me was in Viareggio and I was trying to get to the train station. We had gone there to get a tax ID for the association. After almost getting hit, when I got home I gave my bicycle to my son. In the Fall, Adamo had so many issues with his teeth and infections. He was on Antibiotics for months. Not a good thing for the liver. He had oral surgeries. Now we are not wanting the dentist to give him any more meds and will have a natural doctor take care of him. Starting December through March, we had viruses. It felt never ending. In January, the son I gave the bicycle, got rear ended by a car. Thankfully, he is fine. It was just his knee that got hurt from being thrown from the bicycle. The back light had stopped working. In April, Adamo's best friend past away from cancer. Our kids called him Uncle Eric. It was really hard for them. In May, I finally passed the theory test for driving. We have 2 more needing to pass. When I lived in the States I never understood why people would tell us don't even think of ministering for the first 2-3 years. I get it now. It is a lot. We keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus for He and He alone are we loyal. People interchange loyalty and faithfulness. They are similar, but loyalty includes allegiance and for me personally, that can only be to Christ for He is Holy and True and all others are not. Others can lead you the wrong way. For me, I am a faithful wife, friend, sister in Christ, mom but loyal to the Lord Jesus and because of it I can be honest. We will see what the Lord Jesus has in store this next year in Italy. His is our Shephard and He is the one who leads us and shows us where to go and what to do. There is no better life than a life lived for Him.
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AuthorSonya Lentini a wife and mother of 4 young men and a servant of the Lord Jesus Archives
January 2024
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