Janae's Journeys: Talks and Walks

What a great few days it has been! Let me start with Thursday. That morning, I woke up early, walked down to pick up the Debelak boys and took them to the Kroeker's where we joined Amee and her kids. Amee and I then took all 6 kids to the beach for the morning. The weather was not the greatest, but the kids still had fun playing in the water. I also had a really good talk with Amee, which I appreciated so much.

After the beach, I was able to visit with both Amee and Natalie. It was so good to spend time with the women on this team! Later, after enjoying cake and ice cream to celebrate Katja's birthday, Rebecca and I headed to Jacob's Well to meet with Gabriela from school. We ate together, and I especially enjoyed the gelato!

Pistachio Gelato!

Then, the three of us headed on an adventure to find Francesco's house so we could attend his weekly Bible study. None of us had been there before, but thankfully, we found it with little trouble. Francesco had prepared a meal, and after that, we sang together. We sang mostly familiar songs like "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" and "My Life is in You Lord," only in Italian. Then, Francesco began the Bible study. At first, Gabriela translated for us in English, but that was rather tedious, so we said it was okay for Francesco to speak in either Italian or Spanish. I had an Italian Bible and tried to follow along, but I really couldn't catch much of what was being said. Occasionally, Rebecca handed over her English Bible so I could know what verses they were reading. I noticed Gabriela interacted a lot with Francesco and his wife. Then, she was praying. At the end, she turned to us and said she had accepted Jesus. What wonderful news! After Bible study, Francesco and his wife came with us to accompany Gabriela home. Her mother invited us into their apartment, and by the end of the night, she had decided to come to Bible study next week!

On Friday, I had nothing planned, so I was able to sleep in. I then worked on the story I am supposed to be writing for the team. I am having trouble finding the exact inspiration for this, so I would appreciate your prayers that I would find the words to say.

And finally, today. Rebecca and I rose bright and early to catch the train at 7:25 that would take us to Riomaggiore. We had been told of 5 villages, collectively known as "Cinque Terre," that were connected by a hiking trail. At any of the 5 villages, one could catch a train back. We arrived at Riomagiore a little after 9 a.m. and began our hike.

Towards the beginning of the hike

The weather was cloudy, but that actually ended up being a huge blessing since we were still quite sweaty by the end! In fact, the clouds made the bright buildings stand out more.

Before too long, we came upon Manarola, the second village. The path thus far was not that strenuous. Nicely paved and wide.

Looking back on Manarola

Then, we set out again, heading for Corniglia.

Corniglia in the distance

Eventually, we made it to Corniglia. I think it was around 11 by this point. It was quite the trek.

Notice the stairs and Manarola on the first point of land in the distance

Looking back at Corniglia

After a little exploring, we headed on our way again. From here, the terrain changed. The scenery became more lush and green, and we passed vineyards as we hiked. It was also during this part of the hike that we reached our highest and steepest part of the trail.

Beautiful green hills following Corniglia

You can tell how high we had climbed by this point. Corniglia and Manarola are in the distance.

How thankful we were to see the signs for Vernazza. I was pretty tired!

Vernazza with Monterosso al Mare in the background

We enjoyed focaccia with onions for lunch at Vernazza. I think we were there around noon. We knew the trek to Monterosso al Mare would take about 2 more hours, so we set off again. The trail didn't climb as high, but there were still many stairs. The trail also became very narrow at places.