Day 11--With the Christians in Rome

NOTE: I think I tried to put too many photos into this post and I was not able to get them to the correct place in the type, so just enjoy them where they are. If I figure it out later I'll rearrange them. I'm still a bit sleep-deprived and brain-weary.

Trevi Fountain at night

Janet and Jane enjoy gelati near the Trevi Fountain

Pizza, too! Ann, Kathy, Judy, Janet


I want to return to Rome, so toss in that coin!

Katherine at the Trevi Fountain

The group assembled in the lobby for instructions on leaving the next morning.

Everyone listen to Ferrell!

This is Sunday…always a special day. Today our entire group went by coach to worship with the Christians at La Chiesa di Christo (Church of Christ) in Rome. Most of us would agree that the worship service was one of the highlights of our trip. The meeting house is very nice, and we all arrived in our tour bus, unloaded, and found a seat for the service. We sang five hymns in Italian, but we were all familiar with the English words once we heard the tune, and were able to repeat a portion of the words in Italian. We sang “He Leadeth Me”, “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord”, “Nearer my God to Thee”, “Allelujah”, and “Our God, He is Alive”, all in Italian. If there was a peep-hole in Heaven this morning I can only hope that A. W. Dicus could see and hear Italian and American Christians praising God together using the works he wrote!

After the worship service, Sandro Corazza showed us some Bible commentaries he has translated into the Italian language.

Christians like to stand around and visit after the worship service in Italy, too!

The Colosseum...part of our afternoon sightseeing

The Roman Forum with the Arch of Titus in the background, and the ruins of the Julian Basilica on the right of the picture.

Immediately after the morning worship service

Ferrell Jenkins and Stefano Corazza share the pulpit.

Ferrell was the guest speaker, and he taught an excellent lesson on how God blesses His children beginning with a Scripture from Numbers 6:22-26. His slides were in both English and Italian,and Stefano Corazza (the local evangelist) stood beside Ferrell, translating to the Italians.

After the partaking of the Lord’s Supper and the dismissal prayer, Stefano’s father, Sandro Corazza, spoke to us in English about his conversion as a young man, and the struggles of Christians in Italy. He asked for our prayers for their continued success in spreading the Gospel. It was very moving. After he finished speaking, we stayed around, visited, and took photos. It was difficult to leave and board the bus, but eventually we had to do just that.

Our first sight-seeing stop was at the Colosseum, which is usually thought of as the symbol of Rome. It is the largest and most famous of the amphitheaters. The wooden floor of the Colosseum is long-gone, of course, but with the floor gone it reveals corridors and underground areas where gladiators and wild beasts were kept. By this time it was sprinkling a little, and not the best time for photos.

We walked to the Roman Forum, which is a rather large area where people came to meet, shop, worship, and socialize 2500 years ago. Many pedestals and columns are still standing. We saw the Arch of Titus that celebrates the Romans taking Jerusalem in AD 70. A menorah is depicted on the inside of the arch and other items to show the plunder that was taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. Leaving the area of the Roman Forum, we passed the Mamertine Prison, a state prison where Peter and Paul were supposedly imprisoned, but there is no way to check the accuracy of this claim.

That evening we had the final dinner of the tour, which is always a bitter-sweet event. It is amazing how close a group can get in such a few short days, and knowing that you are eating the final meal all together is always a little sad. Several of us just picked at our dinner, because we had decided to go out after dinner for pizza and gelati. (Ice cream is said to be an art form in Rome.)

After dinner the entire group met in the lobby and said good-bye to our tour guide, Esther, who had been with us the entire trip. (She said if I was going to write about her in my blog I should refer to her as “La Contessa Esther”, so I have done that.) We enjoyed her presence, help, and assistance, although I know at times she felt like she was herding chickens. She had a habit of calling us by saying, “Dahlings…Dahlings, come this way!”

Then several of us got taxis and left. I think the group consisted of Mike, Peggy, Judy, Kathy, Harriet, Steve, Katherine, Ann, Janet and me. We planned to go to see the Trevi Fountain at night, stroll around, take photos, eat, and take a taxi back to the hotel. It was a beautiful night, cool and pleasant. When we arrived at the fountain we noticed that we were not the only ones who thought this would be a lovely night to visit the fountain. I have no idea how many people were there, but hundreds, to be sure. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. We took turns taking photos of each other throwing coins in the fountain, posing in small groups, eating, etc. It was a lovely celebration for our last night in Rome…and our last night of the tour.

We returned to the hotel about 10 PM to sleep for a few hours before heading for the airport early the next morning. (We might have returned a little earlier if we had known that the next day would be 26 hours long!)