Field Notes - Italian Adventures

a Saturday Story

One of my favorite overseas mission experiences was a trip I took to Italy with five other men, four men from our church and one man from a sister church in Texas. It isn’t a favorite because we went to Rome, Italy, although that doesn’t hurt. It is a favorite because of the memorable experiences, the fellowship, and the small ways we saw God work during our brief time there.

The mission purpose was to partner with an International Mission Board missionary (Tim) and help him in his ministry to Muslim refugees in the city. We spent time going to various places where the refugees hung out talking with them and sharing the gospel. We had a good time while doing it.

Steve (not me) was pickpocketed by a group of gypsie women. Tim took us on side excursions into historic locations and always turned them into spiritual parables for our edification. Being a lover of chocolate, I bought some from a shop along the street, not knowing they were filled with strong rum alcohol. Not wanting to drink alone, I passed them out among our group so I wouldn’t be the lone Baptist committing the unpardonable sin.

One evening after dark, we carried some boxed dinners to an area near a train station where homeless refugees were known to hang out. We were passing them out among the men when I approached a Romanian man. He had a large, dirty, walrus-style mustache that was littered with various debris and provided shade from his equally unkempt teeth that peeked out from beneath the hairy curtain when he grinned.

This man was genuinely grateful when I held out the small box of food to him. He grinned and moved in close and began the affectionate greeting used in many parts of the world. This greeting consists of kissing on the cheeks. You are supposed to go right to left, or maybe it is left to right. And that was the problem. I had never participated in this mode of affection before and had no idea what the proper procedure was.

As a result, he went one way and I went the wrong way and we met in the middle with his bushy lips landing squarely on mine.

A handshake would have been preferable.

Photo by Jeet Khatri on Unsplash