Marsascala

This Thursday Tyler, Geraldine and I hiked from Victorioso to Marsascala, and it turned out to be the perfect day for it, because the weather was overcast--it didn't rain but it made for fantastic waves! (by the way, this post is dedicated to a friend who asked me to go on a hike during iffy weather).
This is me rejoicing at the sheer power of the waves.
A beautiful picture of Marsascala bay.
I decided to try and jump across the gap. With all that the Lord has done in my heart, I feel that this is a prophetic picture of where I am. I have stepped out in faith and pressed in. I have gained ground and am moving on to new places in the spirit. However, I'm still waiting to get my other foot off the ground. I am waiting on the Lord in this area, because I know it is the Lord's work, not mine. But I desire to completely leave behind the old and move on into the new! And just in case you're wondering--I made the jump.
Prayer Requests:
1. Wisdom in how to spend my time (again)
2. Like I described in the picture, for the Lord to bring me to the other side. 

more funny sights in Rome

This was under the "pizza" section at one of the places where we ate.

He must have been going to visit his girlfriend...
Prayer requests:
This semester one of the main things I have been hit with is how much I need God to increase and me to decrease. So if the Lord ever puts a burden on your heart to pray for me, that is a general request that will always work. And when God has the number one priority in my life everything else will fall into place. But it does help to pray more specifically sometimes, so I am going to list some more specific prayer requests as well.
1. That I would glorify God as I complete my schoolwork.
2. That I would be wise in my use of time.
3. That the presence of God would invade Malta!

humourously Roman sights

This picture sums up the title of this post quite well--even the centurians have to look both ways! The rest of these photos are just funny things that happened in Rome.
These are the Spanish Steps. The Lonely Planet Rome guide book calls the Spanish Steps one of the most "unremarkable" tourist sights in Rome. But we made a fun game out of it, Where's Waldo style. Can you find me?
One of my goals when coming to Rome was to put this hat on the affectionately-named "fat guy" in the middle of this fountain (in my opinion, one of the most remarkable sights in Rome). However, the task was much more difficult to achieve than we thought it would be. This is my sign of defeat.
After the Easter service, a queen bee landed on one of the chairs in the Vatican square. The rest of the hive apparently followed her. 

A day at the Vatican

Today we spent all day at the Vatican. There are tons of museums with really famous art work, some of which I have actually been studying this semester. This is a picture of two of the Swiss guards, part of the Vatican army.
This is from inside St. Peter's Bascilica, the largest church in the world. It supposedly contains Peter's bones and sits on the spot where, according to tradition, he was crucified. It is also the spot of the Ben Hur style chariot races.
After standing in line for two hours we were actually able to get on top of that dome.
It was so worth it. Directly behind me is the Vatican garden and beyond that is a fantastic view of most of Rome. 

sight-seeing

This is the Roman Forum, where the Senate would meet.
Beautiful riverfront on a beautiful day.
Shot from inside the Colloseum. The rows of archways you see at the bottom is underneath where the stage once was. They are rebuilding some of the stage with wood, as you can barely see in the background. Lord, may you give us the spirit of a martyr as you gave thousands of those who chose to stand with you instead of with the world, condemned to death for their faith.
The Pantheon. It was built and originally used by the Romans. After the fall over the Roman Empire the Catholic Church used it to hold services. Now there is a McDonalds in front of it. (McPantheon?) 

when in Rome...

Yesterday we went to the zoo. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing--we just saw the sign and decided to go. It was by far the most amazing zoo experience I have ever had. I had seen most of the animals before but they all seemed to be performing for us, like this peacock spreading wide its feathers. God's glory never ceases to amaze me.
Last night Jon and I walked all the way around Vatican City. San Pietro's Dome looks amazing at night.
Team Rome (top to bottom): Mark, Jon, Aaron, James, Arlene (L) and Ann Charlette (R).
Me on the train in Sicily. 

the guesthouse

I didn't have much time for yesterday's update, so to fill you in myself and some friends from the Residence are in Rome for Easter holiday. The Lord really blessed us with a guest house 4 blocks away from the Vatican. This is my room, complete with keyboard and computer with internet.
We have an awesome view from our window, five stories up.
The living room.
The streets below. 

Rome Day 1

Easter Sunday Mass at the Vatican.
The Pantheon.
Beautiful Italian flats.
Part of the group overlooking the city. 

The Three Cities

It's a Maltese tradition to visit seven churches on Maunday Thursday, and with Theressa's Aunt Lily visiting for Easter, it was a perfect time to do go to "the three cities"--three peninsulas that share the Grand Harbour with Valletta.
Some of the churches were actually closed (strange for the Holy Week) so we actually only made it inside three churches. But the ones we visited were absolutely beautiful. Seeing the paintings and statues of Christ on the cross encouraged and emboldened me, flooding my mind with reminders of what our Beautiful Savior did for us!
The Three Cities area is one of the most beautiful places on the island.
Scores of sailboats docked in the Grand Harbour. It was such a gift from the Lord to be able to go from "glory to glory"--beautiful churches to beautiful creation! Stir in up a passion for Your Name in our hearts, Lord! 

walking around the island

As you may remember, I go exploring around the island most Thursdays. We discussed the possibility of trying to walk around the entire island, each thursday picking up where we left off the last time. While we might not actually do that, I still love exploring everything Malta has to offer.
This time our hike led us to the beach! It was still a little cold for swimming, but we at least walked barefoot across the sand.
This is an amazing peninsula in between two bays. We found a way to get on top of that rock on the left side and then continued our hike across the huge sand dune.
A view of the bay from on our decent down the dune. 

Gozo 2

My second trip to Gozo was just as wonderful as the first. We rented bikes again and went to the beach and explored some of Gozo's countryside, not to mention biking up and down tons of hills.
Three random sheep we found. That's the amazing thing about Gozo--it is much more relaxed--so relaxed that sheep can wander around, even on the roads. With the exception of Victoria, the capital, there are very few advertisements and no bilboards. Everyone seems to be going about his business, yet very congenial at the same time.
Lukas and I walking across the Gozatin shore.
The Sea.