The sun came out today Valentine's (Happy Valentine's to all by the way)but the wind is icycold as it was also yesterday. I hope the cold season subsides quickly. I used to love it before because having come from a tropical country I always considered winter as a romantic and peculiar scene. But now I realize it easily takes with it the flu and the like. It's not a particularly friendly season for young children whose immune system is not yet fully developed.
This is the main street adjacent to our apartment and the fleamarket (about only 5 minutes by feet from our house) the fleamarket is facing my daughter's daycare school. So I usually buy some fruits or vegetables and meats after taking her to school, before proceeding to my work.
This morning I saw an elegant pair of blazer and pants at a reasonable price and I was ready keen at buying but they didn't have my size - small (40-42) . Well . . .
The good thing about this neighborhood or particularly in this marketplace is that not once they gave me some vegetables or fruits for free, or they trust me enough(or anybody) if they didn't have change for my money that I would eventually return to pay.

Was experimenting on putting slide, but I have to learn to enhance this site some more.

The first thing I do when I arrive early to school is open the internet and browse through the current events to find relevant interesting topics to discuss as most student prefer to talk (practice conversation). By the way today is a very beautiful day . GOD answered my prayer last night for a sunny day. It's almost like summer already.
Anyway-today I have been overhearing Serafino's lesson with 'my' student Andrew (who, if you should know, is the most perfect student I've ever handled in a sense that aside from being a young version of Tom Cruise-Andrew is taller by the way.His family also runs a construction supply business. So as it is, Serafino behaves differently when teaching, usually with colleagues he's this down-to-earth, almost childish smiling character. But this morning he speaks in a serious and firm voice, confidently leaning on the swivel like a proud CEO.
Today also came Luke III to have a lesson with me which has been an enriching experience for me. He shared more about his life, like he's also very good with sailboats because his parents (mother finnish and father french) bought him a sailboat when he was only ten and he sailed so much with friends, to many italian paradise islands, in this boat. That he plays in a musicband where all the 4 members are half-french. That at seventeen he's already travelled to many countries with the money he earned working as an assistant boat skipper (on summers). After the lesson his young beautiful,blond mother was there waiting for him. My heart goes out for this young boy because he seems to be so fragile and humble, betraying his physical appearance (gothic black impression) I hope GOD's love will really shine through his heart, mind and life.

Today is a fairly nice day compared to the rest, of this week. Although the sun isn't that consistent in the sense that it doesn't shine with its full splendor like during summer. Some dark clouds also threatened the day but my daughter was able to take advantage of the fresh air and sun outside just for a couple of minutes. Then back home just in time for her lunch after which we put her to sleep (same as her routine in her daycare school) . So I have ample time to log something here. Well last Thursday at the language school, Giusy the new teacher who's an italian returnee after having lived in the US for a longtime( I didn't ask but I assume long enough for her to acquire the american accent) . Last week must have been her 2nd week, but on our first meeting she annoyed\tested me a bit (Seeing that I'm a thirdworld brown 'pango') in that, when I had to substitute in her lesson for a short 15 minutes, she told me that after my 'stint' she will check with the student. When she did return after 15 minutes I had to give her all the mix of english\american accent my tongue could muster to appease her reluctance or doubt. Then Friday it took me by surpirse that she greeted me sweetly even gesturing forward her cheeks to kiss (which is the traditional italian greeting) She commented (as did the others) that I dress rather nicely, which is deliberate habit on my part because we usually have to deal with professionals and educated or 'elegant' people. Otherwise I dress rather lousily to the extent that many who see me stare in a rather strange way but I'm just naturally oblivious of what others think. Another curious happening is that Sabrina and Serafino were xeroxing an article about global warming with a photo of red chilies and they pronounced it like kilis (in italian ch is pronounced as K) so I corrected them that it's pronounced 'tsili' and they looked at each other and doubted with a Very heavy british accent which I always have a problem understanding. Sabrina brought up another word to mean something cold so I said it's also pronounced as (tsili) chilly. They're always nice and sweet and I like them. GOD gives us the grace and gifts of knowledge. I might just add that my GOD is always being so gracious and merciful above all to my daughter, then to the rest of us. So everyday I PRAISE GOD. Amen.

On this Sunday our Pastor Michael Hopkins did not preach but he gave time and space to Life Grou p Leaders, which is a welcome change. We got to know the purpose and activities and members of each life group. Here in these photos I'm shown with one of the active Filipina leaders Rowena (seated beside the lady in white headcover). It's a nice platform as our church works hard to cover not only rome but the entire italy GOD willing, with life groups. Besides lifegroup ministry there are also other interesting ministries like that of children's (photo with Eunice the thin, and Reina the thick), evangelism etc. I would have loved to be a part of it but already-as a working mother my time is limited to family, household chores (cleaning, ironing clothes,cooking,doing the groceries etc.) and work. I know it's a shallow excuse but it's not easy. But I love the worship service (worship songs) because the reality ofGOD 's great grace, mercy and might and Sovereignty becomes tangible to me. PRAISE GOD.

It simply means that among the male students I'm teaching, he 's the third carrying the name Luke. The first is a very nice intelligent and corteous young 14 year old boy, very attentive to every discussion and prompt to respond to any questions. The second is the 20 something-year old who's an informatics specialist, who loves to monopolize both the attention and the conversation. This third Luke is by the far the most fascinating to me. He is a 17 year-old gothic, non-conformist personality. He wears this silver pentagram chain on his neck, an all-black attire and a blackleatherwrist band spiked with silvermetals, is into heavymetal music and medieval war stories. Doubtless he is very sharp as a person, so also are his thoughts against the GOD of Christianity. I told him that people like him usually are into drugs which he soberly denied, strangely he behaves in a nicer and more corteous way than other italians his age.He has this firm and clear way of expressing his ideas. I suppose and hope that he was pleased with our lesson together, I expressed my desire to be his teacher on his next lesson, but last night I prayed to the LORD to help and lead me into 'influencing' his heart and mind for HIS love. I waited for him today as he promised he would be coming. But earlier today I heard the school administrator talking to somebody on the phone, informing that he\she couldn't report.