You Can Know God

Church at St. Peters

I went to church where the Pope goes to church yesterday.  St. Peters square in Rome, which is inside the Vatican.   Like so many Americans, I was late to church, so I actually got there as the mass was getting over.  People from all over the world come to the service every weekend.  They set up huge giant screens outside and people sit in folding chairs in the hot sun.  What if we had to do that at Oak Leafç  Later that day, I sat through a service at another church.  I had no idea when I was supposed to stand up or kneel and I had no clue what the Priest was saying.  I wonder how many people sit un American churches with the same thoughtsç

I also toured the Pantheon and watched a little American football in an English speaking place that I found.  The Sistene Chapel is closed on Sundays, so I will go check that out tomorrow.  Anyway, I am off to see some more sites today. 

Thoughts from Rome

Made it to Rome yesterday and I've been doing nothing but walking all over the place.  I stopped in an Internet cafe to send some e-mails and thought I would update you.  Here's a few initial thoughts from day one in Roma.

• I keep buying bus tickets but nobody uses them.   People just get on and get off.


• I love these little European cars.


• Pizza here is very good.


• I love the way people drive these cars.  They are aggressive drivers, not defensive drivers.   I could totally fit in.


• Speaking of little cars.  My hotel room is little.  The streets are little.  The cans of Coke are little.  Even the people are little.  The only big people are American tourists.


• I like the way people dress over here.  Everybody is stylish.


• I can't understand what people are saying, and I can't communicate very well at all. The lady that sold me a train ticket spoke four languages.  In the US, teachers have trouble teaching kids how to read and write one language, but over here, they are multi-lingual.


• No building in Rome is allowed to be taller than St. Peters.  There's a respect for the church that we don't have in America.  St. Peters has a strict dress code (no shorts or bare shoulders).  Other churches have similar dress codes.  What if we did that in the US?


• My iPhone doesn't work over here.  It's strange being without a cell phone.  I had to use a pay phone and I'm amazed they still have those things.