Sabbatical Reflection 5: Mamertine Prison, Pompei, Viareggio, and Cinque Terre.

This is update #5 on our sabbatical adventure, and it’s probably the most action packed yet! It also begins and ends with Bridge people hangouts, plus a surprise Bridge cameo in the middle. Here we go!

The day after my last update (two weeks ago), we spent a day in Rome with Rene and Sarah Breuel, missionaries that The Bridge Church supports. Years ago, Rene was the youth pastor at The Bridge while completing his masters degree at Regent College. For the last 15 years, he and Sarah have led Chiesa Hopera, a church they planted in Rome. It was such a joy to spend the day with them. They took us to some catacombs outside the old city walls where many Christians had buried their dead in the first few centuries AD. It was spine-tingling to traverse these deep underground tombs and see some of the imagery that believers had inscribed there- a dove, a fish, a shepherd with sheep, and so on. The other major highlight of the day was a visit to the Mamertine Prison. This prison dates back to the 7th century BC, near the beginning of Rome’s existence. It’s located at the far end of the Roman Forum and was where high profile criminals were kept before execution. There’s a good chance that both Peter and Paul were incarcerated there before their martyrdoms and a chapel has been built on top of the site in memory. Rene read part of 2 Timothy for us during our visit, a letter that Paul may have written in this prison. If the catacombs were spine-tingling, I don’t know how to describe this experience. It was incredibly powerful to think about Paul sitting in that tiny, dank cell, with a small opening in the ceiling above, writing words like, “for I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” It was one more testimony to the God-given, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered resilience of the early church in the face of persecution.

Of course, it wasn’t just where we went that was a highlight but who we got to spend it with. Rene and Sarah are two of the most Spirit-filled, humble, whole-hearted servants of the Lord we know. It was an honor to get to know them better. We know they love our church and they were excited to hear about the good things God has done at The Bridge.

I’ll mention one other highlight from Rome, which was visiting the Basilica of St. John Lateran. This church lays claim to perhaps being the oldest church building in the world. It was given to the church in Rome by Constantine in the early 4th century, and the baptistery dates back to the 5th century. To think about Christians being baptized there 1600 years ago and reading the words surrounding the baptistery reminding new believers what their action meant was another moving experience.

From Rome we traveled three hours south to Salerno and spent a few days there. One day was a trip to the Amalfi Coast, one of the most spectacular settings I’ve witnessed. Another day had us in Pompei, the ancient city that was buried by Mt. Vesuvius’ explosion in 79 A.D. While exploring the Forum there (the main center of an ancient city with temples and public spaces surrounding it), we heard my name being shouted out. We turned to see Kimyi and Ivy and their kids (an amazing family from The Bridge). We had no clue they were going to be in Italy! I don’t know what the odds are that we’d be in Pompei on the same day and that we’d run into each other while there (it’s a huge site!), but I think they’d be pretty slim. It was so encouraging to see them and hear a quick update about how our church is doing. Pompei itself was a place I could have spent many more hours in. There are homes and structures there that provide the most complete representation we have of what 1st century life would have looked like. While the Forum in Rome gives a glimpse into the rich and famous of that world, Pompei is a window into the everyday man and woman.

Carolyn’s parents had been with us for two and a half weeks at that point and departed home after our time in Salerno. To have them with us was such a blessing, and much credit to them for keeping up with us! From Salerno, we headed north to a beautiful little town called Viareggio, right on the Tuscany coast. We’ve been here for a week and are preparing to take a train tomorrow morning to our next stop. After weeks of non-stop sightseeing, the last week has been a refreshing break. We’ve done a couple of short day trips to towns like Lucca and Pisa, but there’s also been plenty of opportunity to go for walks, play games, and for me to write. Here’s the good news: I’ve completed the draft of my book manuscript! I’ve sent it off to the people who will read it and give me feedback so I can incorporate it all into my dissertation. Before you get too excited, I still have my dissertation to write. It will be shorter than my book manuscript and based on the same research, but much more academic (and therefore much less fun). I’m hoping to get a significant amount of it done by the end of the sabbatical, but am thrilled that at least the book manuscript part of the doctoral project is completed (mostly).

Today, however, was not a relaxing, do-nothing day: it will go down as one of the absolute highlights of our trip. In the morning we took a train to Monterosso, a town in the Cinque Terre region of Italy, and met another family from The Bridge: Nathan and Denise with their kids. This rendezvous wasn’t a surprise, it had been planned months in advance. It was so refreshing and fun to hang out with them. We saw all five towns of the Cinque Terre, most of it by hiking. What an incredible walk and what incredible company to do it with. I could try to describe it, but pictures will do a better job. Top it all off with gelato and pizza while watching the sun set over the Mediterranean and it can’t get much better.

Despite all the incredible things we’ve been able to see and do here in Europe, our conversations as a family have turned more and more to how much we miss home. We miss our church and can’t wait to be back with you worshiping together again. We pray for you regularly and were so glad to hear from Nathan and Denise that the Lord continues to work in powerful ways among you all! We’re excited for our upcoming month in Greece, but we’re also excited for the day we fly back home and settle into life there once again. We love you and are grateful for your prayers!

In Christ,

Craig, Carolyn, Natalie, and Zachary