Chapter Fifty Eight - "Oak Hall Italy Adventure (Part 1)"

Day 1 – Wednesday, 3^rdAugust 2016

The day had finally arrived. After two days of solid preparations and last minute purchases I was ready to leave for my Italy holiday. The prospect of spending a week away with my good friend Tom filled me with a sense of excitement, but, aware of his love for the more extreme pursuits during these breaks, I was slightly nervous about the sort of things I might be expected to join him in.

Shortly after nine Tom arrived outside the house, and we were on our way. Judging by my previous experience with airports, I was pleased that I was able to check in without any problems this time. The first person I met on our trip was Ben, our speaker, wearing an Oak Hall shirt. With him was his fiancée, Bec (who I would chat with in more depth on the flight), and another young lady, Beth. However, for the time being, we lost them during the security scanning process, when Tom’s bag was separated out from mine as containing potentially hazardous materials – in reality just a bottle of water which he had forgotten to empty. Tom knew this already, but we were stuck behind the seemingly obligatory oriental tourists, who had their hand luggage scrutinised item by item. When we realised our travelling companions had disappeared, we were left to wander around duty free.

We met up with Ben and the others at the departure gate. Still nowhere near the thirty or so people we were expecting (with another thirty or so having left by coach, yesterday). I was keen to make introductions, and was subsequently introduced to Andrew, from South Wales, with whom I would be sitting, alongside Bec, on the flight to Milan. Tom was seated a few rows behind. The journey was disappointingly short (an hour and a half, not long enough to watch a movie), so I decided to use the opportunity to get to know the folks I was sitting with. Andrew was on my left, while Bec had the window seat to my right. (I tried to push the aircraft scenes from the X-Filesout of my mind; not the most comforting thoughts!) Bec shared about university, her background, and the more recent wedding preparations. Andrew told me about his work in medicine as a GP (I had echoes of Rob, from 2014). Before long, and after partaking of a two-bite club sandwich and a ‘clean’ tomato juice (i.e. no vodka), we landed in Milan, collected the rest of our group and filed onto the coach.

Soon we were winding our way up into the Alps, enjoying the Italian scenery. As we got higher the mist descended, and suddenly we came out at our hotel, Hotel Bonardi, tucked away.

Tom and I booked into our room (‘Thatcher, como Margaret’), where I lost the rather dubious coin toss for the double bed (‘Heads gets it’) and unpacked before we joined up for the welcome meeting, where Q outlined the week’s plan. I relaxed, now assured that the activities (hiking, fishing and a day trip to the local town of Bagolino) were not as taxing as I had envisaged – and there was no compulsion to do the mountain biking!

At dinner I met Tom and Maurice, a lad and his father who Tom had met on previous trips. I also got chatting to Debbie, who was there with her husband and two children. I shared my testimony with her. Tom sat opposite me with a physics teacher on one side, and a timber worker on the other – he felt really at home! Through conversation with Laura, our leader Alex’s Italian wife, I discovered that we were being treated to polenta and veal, a speciality. I looked forward to sampling the pizza, her favourite dish.

We closed the evening with a short Bible talk from 1 John, on ‘fellowship’, given by Ben.

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)

I rounded off the night by saying hello to Patrick, who I had messaged on Facebook previously. He and I had both spent time at the King’s Lodge with Youth With A Mission – I was there in 2008, he was there in 2007.

As I finish writing this Tom is asleep and I am writing by the light of my phone. In his words, ‘We didn’t do anything today’, which probably means tomorrow’s entry will be longer. We’ll have to wait and see. Goodnight.

Day 2 – Thursday, 4^thAugust 2016

Today was the first of our three carousel days. I had decided to embark on the hiking, as part of the forty-strong group, and we headed up one of the local mountains, covered in mist – twice the height of Snowdon. I was glad to have had the previous hiking experience from Canada, so I was confident that this trek would be manageable. As we clambered over rocks and up slopes, I took the opportunity to find out about my fellow travellers, enjoyed chatting, asking the inevitable questions of, ‘What’s your name?’ and ‘What do you do?’ to help start conversations. One young lady, Emma, a dentist from Ireland, shared experiences of her work, to which I was able to respond – sharing a medical background, and having gone through many years of orthodontics myself. Before long we were chatting in reasonable depth about dental x-rays. I also chatted with Nick, from Enfield, who had links with my pastor, Pete. Similarly, another chap, Justin, knew my pastor, Andy – the Christian world can sometimes feel very small! As the pace slowed and sped up I was able to meet and talk to Rosemary, Melissa, Will, Ian, Ruth, Sam, Estelle, Nadine, Matt, Kat, David, Affy, Jared, Josh, Grace and Rachel. Of these, notably, Josh and I chatted about past YWAM experiences (he had been in Namibia), and Rachel asked for my mum’s advice about working as a freelance musician. As she said, it’s about knowing the right people!

We returned to the hotel at around four, with a couple of hours to pass until dinner at half past six. After a shower and a freshen up, a group of us, led by Ben (including Tom, Josh, Rob, Irene, Phil, Phoebe, Izzy and Jack), decided to do something typically Christian and timely, considering our location: play Mafia! After numerous rounds I successfully killed off Tom (much to his displeasure), however our levity was interrupted as we were informed that the afternoon group of cyclists had encountered a slight accident. Two of their number, Rob and Heidi, had unfortunately come off and had been taken to hospital – we broke from our game and offered up prayers.

During dinner (lasagne and a selection of meats and cheese – double helpings), Tom maintained his demeanour of frustration over his earlier demise at my hands, and we were updated as to the condition of our two injured friends – nothing was broken, and they would soon be back with us. To my disappointment I also learned that a visit to the nearby town of Bagolino would not be an option on Saturday due to transport issues and lack of interest on that day. As Tom and I were set on fishing for the final carousel day (Tuesday), I settled for a second day of hiking. A shame I can’t visit the town, and Tom isn’t keen on visiting Verona on Sunday, but the trek may afford some more lovely scenery.

We finished the evening with the Bible study on 1 John 1:4 (We write this to make our joy complete), and a testimony from Alex– an emotional talk, sharing personal struggles, but looking towards Jesus being our source of joy and hope in the midst of such difficulties. Alex finished by saying, ‘So often I lose the joy of today because of my worries about the future and regrets of the past’. Too true.

A presentation by Monday’s adventure park hosts also gave me cause to look forward to the various events with a sense of trepidation. I discovered to my dismay, that canyoning was a lot like coasteering, with cliff jumping, which I was hoping it wasn’t. Not only would heights not enthuse me, but for medical reasons I preferred to take a step back, particularly as a similar activity was included in the morning group session. Before leaving I made sure to lay my fears to rest, and was reassured that even these activities were voluntary. As such, I foresaw Monday as being a rather slower paced day, not necessarily a bad thing. Just a slight change to my plans for this holiday.

Before then, tomorrow, and the prospect of a thunderstorm.

Day 3 – Friday, 5^thAugust 2016 

I could hear the rain beating against the window as I lay in bed, and I knew my fears for the day were realised – it would indeed be wet. Before going for our morning prayer meeting I tried to plan ahead and pack a bag for our day at the adventure park (water park!) – Tom advised plenty of dry clothes and a change of shoes. The question was how wet I would get – was it a day for shorts or trousers?

We started the day by reading Psalm 91, and praying over the opening verses. Even in pouring rain we can still find refuge under God’s wings.

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. (Psalm 91:4)

We offered up the day to God (including ‘the weather you have ordained for us’) and prayed for His protection over our group.

After breakfast – I still haven’t got used to having ham, cheese and cakes this early– we finished our preparations for our day out, and boarded the coach at nine. Tom and I got seats up front, to enjoy the view (I felt like a schoolteacher). After what seemed like an interminable number of hairpin bends, surprisingly easy work for our driver, and passing through a succession of little towns, we neared our destination, Alone. As we descended, the rain came and went, but remained as we walked the final stretch to the park. As I looked around me and took in the various wires, cables and rock faces, I wondered what I’d let myself in for. Still resolving not to do any canyon jumping, it was with some trepidation that I dropped off my bag and harnessed up.

I was dressed in shorts, sandals (with closed toes, suitable for river walking) and a T-shirt, having discarded my raincoat at this point. As I was loaded up with harnesses and clips, I reassured myself that this first activity – river walking – would be sufficiently well controlled to reduce the likelihood of free cliff jumping. I could breathe easy and enjoy what was to come. The main challenge would be the rain.

The river walking involved securing oneself to a high tensile steel cable and edging along canyon walls from peg to peg. The task in itself was reasonably simple. We passed instructions down the line. In the group (we were the first to go) we had Emma (nicknamed ‘Spider Emma’ by the instructor, Maximo), Jo, Tom, David, myself, Liz, Naomi, Phil, Andy, Sol, Nick, Will and possibly a few others who have slipped my mind. The team atmosphere was something akin to that of a staff away day team building exercise; at any rate we showed good teamwork, and a give-it-a-go spirit. As we neared the end of the course, the heavens opened once more and we were all soaked to the skin. I didn’t mind so much, as the water was a comfortable temperature, and I kept my focus on the job in hand, feeling from time to time a bit like James Bond in For Your Eyes Only (without the near death experiences). I laughed to think that only English tourists would choose to do these activities in a thunderstorm. Still, it builds character and muscles. Following on from the river walk I conquered a fear of heights and tackled a wire bridge, about ten metres (a rough estimate) above the ground. I followed Tom, putting one foot in front of the other, and trying not to look down.

When we reconvened for our packed lunches, and had changed into dry clothes, I heard about the other groups. Q had lost his camera which had been swept down river, but thankfully no one was seriously injured. Looking back over the past events, I was pleased to have tried the river walking and not shied away for fear of the rain. Again, I felt I bonded with the group more, as we faced new challenges together.

Dinner, at six thirty was ‘Roman night’ – roast beef, carrots and potatoes, Italian style. At least this was what we expected. The meat we were presented with was more like pork (although I later learned this was actually veal), and we all waited eagerly for roast potatoes that never arrived. A slight disappointment, although the food, as always, was delicious. So much so that we were cleaning each other’s plates, as Liz offered her aubergines and cheese, and Beth gladly gave me her crème caramel (the way to a man’s heart may be through his stomach after all).

Our evening Bible study looked at 1 John 1:5 (God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.), and that there was no darkness in God. Jesus suffered our darkness, so we could come in to the light. And so he knows all our thoughts and troubles, and cares deeply for us.

The day closed with some fun and games. My team (‘Via Ferrets’, a play on Via Ferrata) won the Pictionary/anagrams/Charades, demonstrating more great teamwork, and strengthening new friendships.

I finish with a low-alcohol Italian beer in hand, writing this by torchlight. I am looking forward to tomorrow, excited at what the rest of the week holds, and thankful for the people I can share it with. Thank you Lord for family in Christ.

Day 4 – Saturday, 6^thAugust 2016

The hour is late, so this entry will be on the shorter side (hopefully).

Today was the second of our carousel days, and I was to set out on another trek. I was looking forward to a reasonably relaxed, straightforward sort of day, having a good idea of what lay ahead.

Psalm 8 was the focus of our morning prayers, focussing on the wonder of creation and thanking God for another wonderful opportunity to enjoy it.

At nine, after breakfast, those of us who were walking (Tom had decided to do the cycling) set out. We were heading for a waterfall, taking a circuitous route from the hotel, round to a chalet and pizzeria (where we would dine later this evening) before returning to base. The trek provided opportunity for spiritual growth and blessing as relationships were strengthened and conversations arose on a variety of different topics, including the dangers of Freemasonry, the challenges of witnessing to Christ in the work environment, and hopes for the future. These particular subjects arose through casual conversations with Rachel and Josh (M), both of whom I would enter into deep discussions with later, on the fundamentals of faith, healing ministry, and for Rachel, tackling the reason why Jesus had to be fully God and fully man to save us. Eyes were opened, but I hope I didn’t trip over my words while conveying my personal opinions. Whether or not we came to an eventual agreement or understanding on these issues was difficult to see, but I can continue to trust that God is faithful and understands my thoughts and reasons. I prayed that we would still remain united as fellow believers. (I must admit I can’t always know the answers.)

The evening’s meal was at the aforementioned pizzeria at Chalet Maniva – enjoying real Italian pizza and chips, and fellowship with Rob and Irene. Before this however, after realising the real reason why Tom turned down Sunday’s trip to Verona (he had seen it before), I secured myself a spot on tomorrow’s coach. I would see an Italian town after all. I settled up with Bec, very pleased and relieved to be making the most of the opportunities offered to us. Tom was quite happy to be left to his own devices.

After dinner we had our evening Bible study and worship time, and heard some of Q’s testimony. This was a sensitive story and it really helped me to appreciate God’s saving work in an individual’s life, as with Alex’s story previously.

As the sky grew dark, a few of us, led by Q, went up on to a nearby hill, and raised our eyes skywards. Though the sky was rather cloudy, we were just able to stargaze and identify stars and planets – we saw Jupiter on the horizon. Although I struggled with this somewhat, not being certain where my app was pointing, I wondered at the vastness of the stars spread above us – the worlds of dreams, and too numerous for us to count. How amazing our creator God is. As we returned to the hotel along the road, now in darkness, I joined with the other lads as we sung our praises to God, as Christians stereotypically do – but why not!

What wonderful views I’d seen today, from the majestic waterfall in the morning, to the peaceful mountainside at lunchtime, and the shining stars at night. Thank you, Lord!

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4).