The Park

We took Kaira to the park to have dinner. She ended up not eating much as she was too interested in the people walking and playing soccer.

While visiting Castellamare last week I climbed up Mt Vesuvius with Brian Weaver from Virginia Beach and Nicholas Girard who is a missionary based in Sorrento. It is only about a 40 minute walk from the car park to the top. The views are great, despite the haze, and it was cool to be up a live volcano (it was on my life goals list – so I can cross that one off!)

Mt Vesuvius, on the coast of the Bay of Naples about nine kilometres east of Naples and a short distance from the shore, is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years.

Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and the death of 10,000 to 25,000 people. It has erupted many times since and is today regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards explosive eruptions. It is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world.

There have been many documented eruptions since the one that deestroyed Pompeii. The eruption of 1906 was particularly destructive, killing over 100 people and ejecting the most lava ever recorded from a Vesuvian eruption. Its last major eruption to date came in March 1944, destroying the villages of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Massa di Somma, Ottaviano, and part of San Giorgio a Cremano, as well as all 88 planes in a U.S. B-25 bomber group as World War II continued to rage in Italy.
From 6 January to 23 February 1944, lava flows appeared within the rim and there were outflows. The activity paused on 23 February and resumed on 13 March. Small explosions then occurred until the major explosion took place on 18 March 1944.


Over the past few centuries, the quiet stages have varied from 18 months to 7½ years, making the current lull in activity the longest in nearly 500 years. While Vesuvius is not thought likely to erupt in the immediate future, the danger posed by future eruptions is seen as very high in light of the volcano's tendency towards sudden, extremely violent explosions, and the very dense human population on and around the mountain. There are emergency plans to evacuate 600,000 people in the case of another eruption. Unfortunately the plan requires 20 days to carry out and the hope is there will be 3 weeks warning of such an eruption.

Henry Trumbull

"Unless a man is ready to work for the salvation of others, it may be questioned whether or not he himself is saved. He who wants only enough religion to save himself is not likely to have even that much" Henry Trumbull

Castellamare

We spent last week at Castallamare, about 40mins from Napoli. We have been doing some work with Chiesa Emmanuel. Pastor Giuseppe has a great team with great dreams.

At the moment they are doing an 8 day outreach by the seaside. Braden spoke at the outreach at on Tuesday evening.

We stayed with the Cuomo family who looked after us so well. Kaira loved Nunzia!

We talked trhough church structures and strategies with Pastor Guiseppe. As we are in the middle of summer our meetings were at the beach, which was great.

we put together some plans to start an Alphacrucis centre in Castellamare and met with several potential students.

Trani

Recently we travelled to a picturesque town called Trani, about 40 minutes from Bari. It is quite a nice, laid back town.

The main monument of Trani is the Cathedral, dedicated to St. Nicholas the Pilgrim, a Greek assassinated at Trani in 1094 and canonized by Urban II. It lies on a raised open site near the sea. Emperor Frederick II built a massive castle in Trani which we visted.






Kaira enjoying a visit to the castle!

In the Park

We have a nice little park down the road where we can enjoy a nice afternoon in the sun.

French Pranks

Rémi Gaillard is a French prankster. He gained attention in the French media after performing a well-documented series of pranks, including a famous appearance disguised as a Lorient football player in the 2002 Coupe de France final match where he took part in the celebrations and even greeted the then president of France Jacques Chirac.

Have a look at these videos:

Rugby Imposter

Urban Gymnastics

Going the Extra Mile

I enjoyed this piece by Paul Holmes in the New Zealand Herald recently. It is an article about an awards ceremony for Air New Zealand. There are a number of awards given, but the ones of interest are some special awards in which Air New Zealand honoured staff members whose service to the company and its customers went beyond the call of duty. They called these the "We're Impressed" awards. The people nominated had no idea they were being nominated. Their nominations came from colleagues.

The awards went to people who went out of their way to help others. There was the customer liaison specialist who volunteered to fly to America, to Fiji and back to NZ (without stopping to enjoy the places) to escort a young boy who became separated from his grandparents because of ticketing difficulties. She did it over New Years, using her holiday time and bought the boy toys to keep him occupied.

There was another lady who worked in customer services in Wellington who met a blind passenger at the airport. On her way home she saw the passenger at a bus shelter waiting for a 45 minute ride to get to her destination followed by a considerable walk. She decided to give the lady (and her children and guide dog) a ride. First she had to go home and drop of some gear, then returned to accompany the passenger to her destination.

Then there was the guy who worked at the Wellington airport. He organised for some expensive medical equipment that had been left on a plane by a passenger to be returned the following day to Auckland. For some reason the gear was not sent. Embarrassed at the mistake of a colleague, this man, on his day off, paid for his ticket and flew to Auckland with the gear, then took a taxi at his own expense to drop off the gear.

These are some pretty cool stories about people going the extra mile and making a world of difference. They sort of remind me of some of the parables Jesus might tell today regarding how we are to work and treat others.

Kaira Sleeping

One of the things I love about having a child is seeing how many different positions she gets into when she is asleep!

Consulting at Biscelgie

We have gone sveral times to a town called Biscelgie to consult with a church leadership team there. We are talking about church structures, leadership and ministry pathways, growth strategies and so on. The pastors,Fabrizio and Lucia, pictured below, are a great couple who are really keen to learn and to grow their church.

Please pray for these pastors and leaders and the church as we engage in a process of change with them.

Kaira Brushing Her Teeth

Kaira is learning to brush her teeth by copying mum. She loves it!!

World's Ugliest Dog Competition

From the World's Ugliest Dog Competition. More photos at Time.

Les Miserables

When Andrea and I were in London we went and saw Les Misérables. It is the longest running musical in West End (almost 24 years). Based on the 1862 novel by French author Victor Hugo, it focuses on the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption. It is a powerful story of grace, sacrifice and overcoming. Here is a bit about the story.

The story starts in 1815, in Toulon. The peasant Jean Valjean has just been released from imprisonment after nineteen years: five for stealing bread for his starving sister and her family, and fourteen more for numerous escape attempts. Upon being released, he is required to carry a yellow passport that marks him as a convict, despite having already paid his debt to society by serving his time in jail. Rejected by innkeepers, who do not want to take in a convict, Valjean sleeps on the street. This makes him even more angry and bitter. However, the benevolent Bishop Myriel, takes him in and gives him shelter. In the middle of the night, he steals the bishop’s silverware and runs. He is caught, but the bishop rescues him by claiming that the silverware was a gift and at that point gives him his two silver candlesticks as well, chastising him to the police for leaving in such a rush that he forgot these most valuable pieces. The bishop then "reminds" him of the promise, which Valjean has no recollection of making, to use the silver to make an honest man of him. As Valjean broods over these words, he steals a child's silver coin purely out of habit. He chases the boy away but soon after, he repents, and decides to follow the bishop's advice. He searches the city for the child whose money he accidentally stole. At the same time, his theft is reported to the authorities, who now look for him as a repeat offender. If Valjean is caught, he will be forced to spend the rest of his life in prison, so he hides from the police.

Six years later, Valjean, having assumed the pseudonym Monsieur Madeleine to avoid capture has become a wealthy factory owner and is appointed mayor of his adopted town of Montreuil-sur-Mer. While walking down the street one day, he sees a man pinned down under his cart, caught by the wheels. When no one volunteers to lift the cart, he decides to rescue Fauchelevent himself. He crawls underneath the cart and manages to lift it, freeing him. The town's police inspector Javert, who was an adjutant guard at the Bagne of Toulon during Valjean's imprisonment, becomes suspicious of the mayor after witnessing his heroics. He knows the ex-convict Jean Valjean is also capable of such strength.

Sometime later, Valjean meets Fantine. Years earlier, she was forced to abandon her child Cossette with a couple of corrupt and contemptible inn keepers, and gain a living as a prostitute. Later she dies and Valjean promises her that he will look after Cossette.

In the meantime Javert comes to see Valjean again. Javert admits he had accused him of being Jean Valjean to the Parisian authorities after Fantine was freed. However, he tells Valjean that he no longer suspects him because the authorities have announced that another man has been identified as the real Jean Valjean after being arrested and having noticeable similarities. His trial is set the next day. At first, Valjean is torn whether to reveal himself, but decides to do so to save the innocent man. He confesess, but escapes in order to fulfill his promise to Fantine, to help Cossette.

He goes to the Innkeepers who do not want the child and pays an exorbitant amount to save her from a lifestyle of abuse. He shows extreme compassion and takes her in and raises her as his own daughter.

Part of the story revolves around the barricade that students have erected to fight against the French soldiers. Marius is one of the students and is in love with Cossette. Valjean goes to the barricade himself to join the other students, not certain if he wants to protect Marius, or kill him. At this time Javert, who is also there, is outed as a spy and the students want to execute him. Valjean volunteers to execute Javert himself, He takes Javert out of sight, and then shoots into the air while letting him go. As the barricade falls, Valjean carries off the injured and unconscious Marius. Valjean escapes through the sewers, carrying Marius' body on his shoulders. At the exit, he runs into Javert, whom he persuades to give him time to return Marius to his family. Javert grants this request, and then realizes that he is caught between his belief in the law and the mercy Valjean has shown him. He feels he can no longer give Valjean up to the authorities. Having been exposed to grace but unable to accept it, Javert commits suicide by throwing himself into the Seine.

Valjean confesses to Marius that he is an escaped convict and that he must go way to protect Cossette. Marius is in agreement with this. Marius and Cosette are soon married. Marius eventually finds out all of the good deeds Valjean has performed, including saving his life on the barricades. Marius and Cosette rush to Valjean's house, but the great man is dying. Valjean reveals his past to the pair and in his final moments, he realizes happiness with his adopted daughter and son-in-law by his side. He expresses his love to them, and then dies.

Valjean is a true hero. His life is turned around when he exeriences extreme grace and he spends the rest of his life showing compassion and mercy to others. The final scene when he dies and is ushered into heaven by Fantine and another girl is quite moving. You could hear most of the audience sniveling during the scene!