Riddle Family In Italy

Where in the World?

It has been more than a month since I last wrote here and the reason is that we have been on the go non-stop since the end of May!  We are now in the States visiting family, friends and churches.  It keeps us on the move but we need to be here every now and then.  I hope that I can get some stories written here about some of the events that have happened in the past couple of months. 

We are grateful to be here with family that we have not seen in almost three years.  We are grateful for the friends that have greeted us and the churches that have welcomed us back after more than two years of service in Italy.  We are blessed to say the least. 

More to come in the near future.

Driving School...Complete!

Wow!  It has taken way too long but this past Wednesday, Melody was able to take and pass her final test for the Italian Drivers License!  It is not that she is slow at all, it is the system here!!  We could have finished two months ago if they would have let us, but they have a system and they stick to it!

We celebrated with Pizza and a movie (Curious George) and it was great to finally be able to do that. 

It is great to know that we can now drive a little easier kknowing that we are completely in regulation.  Not that we were not before, it is just easier having the Italian license than the international.  We were able to meet some nice people during our time in school. 

We tested in the Fiat 500 (pictured above) and it is not a very big car at all.  You all may see them soon as Fiat starts shipping them to the US with the agreement they reached with Chrysler.  Enjoy!

AS Bari wins Serie B, Moves into Serie A...

Well, everything in in place now!  A couple of weeks ago, Bari clinched their position in Serie A for next season.  Yesterday they clinched the top position in the standings for Serie B this season! 

The city has been awash with everything white and red (biancorosso) for weeks now and it is has been fun to watch the enthusiasm grow over the past couple of weeks!  Now we can look forward to some of the biggest teams in European soccer coming to Bari next year to square off against Bari and their fans!  We hope to get to a couple of the games. 

One other part that makes it special for Bari is the fact that their bitter rivals from the south, Lecce, have been relegated to Serie B for next season!  I think they would like to be able to play them, but it is sweet to see them going down in the same season that Bari is going up!

We will try to keep you posted on events next season as they happen. 

Driving School Almost Done...

Ah, the little Fiat 500 (seen below) is the tiny, little car that we have been using in driving school for the Practical part of our schooling.  It reminds me of the MG Midget that my brother-in-law and I used to drive to choir practice.  We were the two tallest guys in the choir and here we would unfold ourselves to get out of the car!  That is a whole different story.

For the past three or four weeks, I have gone to class in the afternoon to "learn" how to drive!  Twenty-two years of driving in four different countries did not make a difference, I still had to drive like everyone else that takes the exam; really slow!   I am convinced that this it the only time in their lives that the Italians drive slow and follow the rules of the road!

Today I took the practical exam and walked away with my Italian Driver's License in my back pocket!  I was kind of happy to be done.  Now, if I choose to do so, I too can forget all the rules that I learned in the driving school and drive like a complete maniac on the streets of Bari!  As my brother told me, "Drive fast, keep it between the lines and when I am done, park it on the sidewalk."  That pretty much sums up driving in Bari.

Next week, my wife gets to take the test.  She should have no problem with it, she learned to drive near Philadelphia!  Kind of like Bari there!  :)  When she has her license, then we will really be able to celebrate!

By the way, the Fiat 500 will soon be in the States so you all will be able to see just how small it is for yourselves.

Driving School Test...

Melody and I took our driving tests this past Wednesday, the written part at least and we were able to pass it!  This is a good thing, since now we have a chance to finish this process of getting our Italian driver's license before we leave for the States for the summer!  We still have to pass the practical/behind the wheel part of the test, but that we are not very worried about.  (At Right: Yes, that is a car entering a street that says do not enter and you must turn right!)

It was interesting to experience the driving test.  There is so much pressure put on people to pass this test, it is crazy!  We talked to people that were there for the third or forth time to take it!  It is not that the test is all that difficult, the problem is how they word many of the questions.  In some ways it seems like they want to trick you.  Oh well, that part is behind us now.  Now it is a matter of not getting hit while driving or hitting someone else.  That should not be too hard.

Keep us in your prayers though.  :)

Table in the Market (3.0) Day 4...

It was an interesting day for me at the market.  I was there by myself as we are currently in the middle of a holiday weekend here in Italy and everyone else from the church was busy with other things.  I got there and set up a little bit late, but it was okay.  While I was setting up, one lady came up to me that had visited us before at the table and started talking.  She is a really nice lady and is truly seeking God in her life.  We talked together for about 20 minutes and then she had to go.  It was a pleasant start to the day.

One thing that i have tried not to do, is be really pushy with handing out materials here.  One of our guiding verses in this work is 1 Peter 3:15 - 16 that says, "...Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence."  It is one of the bad reputations that some associated with any non-Catholic church have received here in Italy.  It showed in the first weeks that we did the table last summer and even during Christmas and New Years.  People were extremely uneasy near the table and many times gave it a lot of room as they walked by it.  Things are beginning to change.

The past weeks we have been in the market getting to know people.  There are people that are there every week and we notice when things change and when they do not with some of these people and that is where our time here is paying off.  Saying, "Good Day" or "Have a nice day." to someone has an affect.  In past weeks this greeting was met with silence and unchanging faces.  Today, I began to see the difference in people.  Many people that I have been seeing over the past number of weeks and months are starting to respond.  In fact, today may have been the first day where more people responded with a smile and something to the effect of "you have a nice day also" than did not!  Being nice and allowing the love of God to flow in the ordinary things of life are having an affect.

Our goal is to demonstrate the love of God to people.  God has never forced his love on us but demonstrated it to us so that we would be able to see the choice that we had to make.  We are trying very hard to do the same thing at the table.  We can not force people to take the Bibles and other literature that we have and read it.  Unless they realize we are different from others that hand out literature, they will not have an interest in what we have. 

An example:  There is one very small lady, older and she uses a walker with wheels on it.  We had seen her for months before the table started last summer and frequently at the market with our table.  Her walker was old, had small wheels and was difficult for her to use.  Each week that she walked by we would greet her as she walked by but would not get much of a response.  Two weeks ago she got a new walker that works much better for her and is much easier to handle.  I noticed this and mentioned it to her and she stopped to talk for a few minutes.  Today, I was able to have three different conversations with her on various topics.  Gentleness and reverence have broken down walls that would never have come down with Force! 

An interesting thing about this little lady; she knew who I was and that I was married with children.  She like so many others here are watching us and know what we are doing.  It makes it all the more important that we demonstrate God's love and the Love of Christ in everything that we do.

I look forward more and more to the table in the market now each week.  It is one of many things that I will miss as we are in the States this summer.  More later...

Bari one step closer to Serie A...

Last week Bari beat Albinoleffe 4-1 and went five points up on Parma and 12 points up on two teams tied for third.  What does it all mean?  Well, if they beat Empoli Monday night here in Bari, they clinch their place in Serie A for next season!  I want to see this town if that happens!  It could be crazy and I hope to get pictures.  Stay tuned!

Bari 3, Rimini 0...

The count down to Serie A is on for real now!  Bari beat Rimini 3-0 today and with Livorno and Parma in a 2-2 draw, it means that Bari is now 10 points above third place and three points above Parma in second.  The top two teams automatically advance to Serie A and so the win today for Bari was a huge step to clinching a spot in the top league!

There are only seven games to go in the season.  If Bari does not advance to Serie A this year with a ten point lead with seven to go...it will not be good for the team here!  I think they are going to make it!  It should be fun to see this city when that happens!  We will keep you posted.

Table in the Market (3.0) Day 3

We were at it again today.  Handing out Bibles in the market and trying to talk to people.  At first, it seemed a little heavy.  People were kind of quiet, it was cloudy and it was just a slow day.  

One man that was coming into the market told me that he could not read.  We have heard that before and there are times when we believe it and there are other times when we do not.  On his way out, I looked at him and wished him a good Sunday, "Buona domenica!"  He looked at me and said, "I told you, I can't read!"  In other words, he had not been listening to what I said!  My response was, "I know, all I said was have a good Sunday!"  "Oh!" he replied, "Thanks."  and he continued out the door.

There are many times when people have a response ready when they see the table and no matter what we say, they respond with what they have prepared.  We get some interesting responses sometimes.

Many of the people that we see in the market are older.  There are a few young people that come in and buy things, but for the most part, the people are in their late 40's and up.  We are now in the process of planning a table like this in the fall, but for the piazza and doing it in the evenings rather than the mornings so that we are able to have conversations with young people.  The piazza is where many kids hang out in the evenings and that is where we want to start having an impact. 

One last thought.  A good friend of ours mentioned again today as he has mentioned before that it is good to see us doing this in the community.  He is a very strong Catholic and he told me that the thing that he does not like about the vast majority of the priests is the fact that they stay in their office in the church all day and never come out to be with the people.  This is what we are trying to do now.  We need to put into practice the words that Christ gave us.  Loving our neighbor means going out so that we can see and be with our neighbor.  (The picture above is the piazza in our town and we hope to meet and talk to young people more this fall in an organized fashion and now in a more informal way.)

A.S. Bari...

There is great hope in the city as the soccer (calcio) season begins to wind down here.  Bari is currently on the top of Series B which is the second division when it comes to soccer here in Italy.  But, the neat thing about this is that if you win in Series B this year, you go up to Series A next year!  That is what people are excited about.  Bari has not been in Series A for ten years now and this town is wanting to be back there really bad!  We are cheering for them to get there too.  It may be neat to get some tickets to the games next year against some of the major European soccer powers like Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus and Roma.  If the prices of the tickets are anywhere near reasonable that is.  We will see, there are eight games to go!  Forza Bari!