Dear friends and family,
This week has definitely gone by a lot
faster than I expected. It
seems like the weeks just keep picking
up speed and it's a very bitter
sweet feeling. But like they say
"time flies when you're having fun”.
This week we had a lot of fun.
I started out the week doing an exchange
with the missionaries in this
city called Caltanisetta. It's this
pretty big city right in the
middle of Sicily, up in the mountains.
The church is small there and
they do their Sunday services in the missionary’s
apartment. There I
was able to do something pretty cool. I
was able to interview a 16
year old girl for baptism. She's going
to be baptized soon. It was
a really cool experience for me. I also
got to see my long lost red
headed friend Anziano Whited. It was a
good time.
The next day I had to do another
exchange but this time in the city of
Agrigento. We taught some people. Met
some crazy people. Ate some
food. All in all, it was a good time but
after 3 days of not being in
Sciacca I was ready to return.
Today, Monday, we went back to Agrigento
because, there, they have
these old temples. They were built in
the 3rd century BC by the Greeks
so they are temples built to different
Greek gods. It's all ruins but
one of the temples is in really good shape.
Most temples weren't
finished because wars came and went and
because all the people were
fighting they didn't have time to build.
But, there was definitely a
lot of history seen today so that was
way cool. You don't get old
stuff like that in America ha-ha.
We had a good week here in Sciacca and
honestly we are seeing miracles
every day. Even if the miracle is the
fact that I have enough energy
to make the long walk home every night.
In the end nothing super crazy
or extraordinary happened. No stories of
eating unbelievable amounts
of food or crazy people yelling at us on
the streets. None of that so
sorry for the disappointment but like
I've learned from Italian
cooking, (best in the world) it's the simplest
things that bring
the best taste. At the end of this week I’ve
definitely been left with
a good taste in my mouth.
I've also been thinking a lot about the
idea of "Carpe Diem" the
thought that we need to seize the day.
I've thought about how many of
us, in whatever stage of life we’re in,
think about the next stage
longing to live in a nonexistent future
when at that very same moment
we forget to live in the present that
we've been given. I've come to
learn that instead of looking forward to
tomorrow or next week or
November, I need to live in the present.
“You pile up enough
tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve
collected a lot of empty
yesterdays.” - Professor Harold Hill
from the play "The Music Man". So
I'm going to appreciate every day given
to me because in the end, it's
a gift, that's why they call it the
present.
Love you all, have a good week!!
Anziano Yskes
Sciacca
Temple Ruins
