So...yeah I was at John Michael and Candace Dimond's wedding
tonight...it was really nice.  It was outside at Tyler Rose
Garden...nice place.  Everything went really well....vows,
prayers, ceremony and the reception.  Hannah sang a song at the
reception...that was really cool.  Yeah...just really nice. 
Aside from being outside...it was really unique in a John Michael kind
of way...I'm sure Candace too...but like the way the vows and prayers
and everything was structured and worded just made me think to myself
"this is definitely JM's wedding."  So yeah...it's really neat to
see how people's individual personalities are expressed through
ceremonies rich with age old tradition...yeah...so anyways...I'm going
to bed now.  Wedding...cool!

So...I go back last night... spent the night in Springfield...and then
drove down to Dallas today.  Staying with Joel and visting some
friends and some family in the area...I'll be back in Springfield by
3:30
pm on Tuesday when I work....fun times!  All in all...not much has
happened since I started my journey back....was on a really long plane
trip (almost got bumped which would have been cool) and then a short
plan trip....slept....got up...did laundry and ran some errands....got
in a car...drove to Dallas....and now as you sit there you realize that
you have wasted about 30 seconds of your life which you will never get
back....and didn't really learn a single thing of interest.  
So for those of you who are faithful and into music....check out
www.allofmp3.com
It's a russian website that you can download songs for 2 cents a
megabyte...which I think is about 10 cents a song at the quality level
that ITunes downloads....so yeah...my details might be sketchy...check
it out....or you could just talk to David in Brussels who is all about
piracy

Okay....no longer in Rome....left Padova last night and came to Brussels via Paris.  Some cool people here are letting me stay in their house....I think for free!!!!  Tonight going downtown I guess with Sir T Dunn and some others...should be fun.  Havn't been downtown since like '99.  Went to my old highschool....it sure has changed....they have built a lot of new stuff since I was there....but I guess they don't give the missionary discounts like they used to...which is sad...because the group of missionary kids in the school was like the light on the hill at that school...well I guess it's just a new challenge for the youth group here to figure out how to reach them...well enough for now...going back to the states tomorrow and then heading down to Texas pronto.....it's been a great trip...can't wait to come back already!

Ciao

Day Number 4 in Rome.....plans kinda fell apart.  Went to the Vatican.  Originally I wanted to catch the Pope doing mass during the morning service....but a few problems with that...the shuttle was full and didn't get there till like 10:15....and secondly...the Pope is currently away.  So that didnàt happen...then I was going to go see the Sistine Chapel...and that part of the vatican is closed today because it's some sorta holiday.  So..went inside St. Peter's Basillica.  Kinda impressive...it was really grand on a big scale...but it seemed to be all about paying tribute to dead popes...their tombs and monuments to them.....ok...outside of a cathedral I would be ok with that...but this is supposed to be a house of God...where is the emphasis on God and Christ.  Oh well..I would say I'm disappointed with about half of the cathedrals that I visit...it seems a lot of them totally miss the point..but there are others that truly are moving!  I guess it's a lot like Christians....some Christians are on the right path and following Christ...while others are only "Christian" because their parents were.....so anyways...there are several things here in Italy that I have not been able to see...so guess it just means I'll have to come back!!!!  Tonight they are showing Shrek at the pool so I think I'm just giong to chill and watch that...ciao!

Day numbers 2 & 3:  Yesterday (#2) I just chilled by the pool....and cooked myself...it was a relaxing day...in the afternoon I went to the train station to plan my trip back to Brussels and the states.  Then at night I finished reading a book I bought right before I came over...and then I had the cabin to myself.  It was nice....tonight and tomorrow night I'm sharing the cabin with atleast this lady named Cathy.  She has three kids but is on vacation by herself here in Italy.  She is a native american (onoida?  one of the Iroquois tribes) from Wisconsin...we chatted for a while...pleasant person.  Earlier in the day I went downtown to see parts of Ancient Rome...the Colloseum and the Roman Forum.  It was a hot day so 5 hours of it...wore me out.  Didn't see as much as I wanted to...but we'll see what tomorrow brings.  Was planning on going to the Vatican to hear the Pope do mass from his little window...but someone told me that most of the vatican is closed...and the Pope is out of the country....well...so much for that idea.  There are other things....we'll see what happens...

So yesterday was my first full day in Rome....what did I do....um...not much!  It was overcast and sprinkled on and off....was at the pool for a bit...slept...slept some more....read...and then went back to sleep...tough day.  The American guy left and an Australian guy was in the cabin last night...he wasn't around much cause he left right away this morning too...but we did chat a bit this morning around 4 am cause neither one of us could sleep.  So anyways...last night I went on a mini bus tour at night...it wasn't much of a tour...but they did take us around and drop us off at a few places and let us walk around at night.  The colleseum at night is "magical" as the pseudo-tour guide called it.  Cool couple hours...when I get my pictures developed I'll post some.  Ciao amigos and amigas...

I'm in Rome!!!! Hurrah...well I'm at some camping ground...it's been interesting already...they assigned me to this one cabin where some Polish people were staying but they said it was all theirs....but that's about all they could say.  They had like swapped cabins around with some friends of theirs...so they ended up just moving me to a new one...there is only one guy in there...he is American!  Yessss!  English is good....I'm here for atleast 4 nights, maybe I'll go sightseeing tomorrow...maybe not...maybe I'll just chill by the pool It's a rough life....

The past two days I've been in Italy.  I took the train from Paris
to Padova....12 hours.  The Skinners have been awesome letting me
stay in their home and do laundry here and feeding me wonderful
food.  Lucia took me to Venice yesterday and showed me
around....and  then today we hung out here in Padova.  It's
been an awesome trip so far....and tomorrow I'm off to Rome for a few
days.  I'm not totally sure of all the things I've seen ut Giotto
is the one thing I will remember for sure.  Some chapel he painted
in like 1303 - 1305...and he was the main artist that inspired
Michaelangelo and others years later.  I'll be sure to look up
more about him when I get back to the states.  Fun times so
far....we'll see where tomorrow goes!

Thanks Lucia!

Day 3:  Notre Dame in the afternoon....didn't go inside but just went around outside.  Afternoon nap....Sacre Coeur in the evening!!!!  My favorite!  Bought a change of clothes in the morning too....had to get something, and then my bag arrived in the evening! Finally! I'm going to see what I can get from American Airlines cause it has been a major inconvenience!  I've altered my travel plans because of them!  That's the gist of the day...some really cool historice/romantic places by myself....woo hoo!

Day 4: Which is right now....went to the Louvre earlier and checked out the Egyptian collection....then I went outside in the big courtyard beside the pyramid and read for close to two hours....and people watched.  People are funny things,  ofcourse someone was probably saying that about me aswell.  Had lunch...came to the internet cafe and eventually I will make my way to the train station.  Ciao for now!