Sometime in late June, our assistant Pastor (who also happens to be my big brother and one of my mentors) posed to me the question: “Would you be interested in joining a study tour to Rome?” My answer was probably a thunderous and way too excited “Yes!”
That has taken me to this wonderful journey.
First Day, September 21
We arrived hassle-free at the Fiumicino airport in Rome. The hour and a half flight allowed us to get to know a bit of each other in a more personal level. Although our pre-departure meeting introduced us to each other, the flight has become an avenue to jumpstart our six-day journey with one another in the ancient metropolis.
A delightful Italian dinner with pasta as main dish welcomed us an hour after our arrival at our hotel, “Casa Valdese”.
Afterwards, the evening tour “Classical Rome” offered us a glimpse of how beautiful Rome is at night.
The only thing that came to my mind at that very moment: “I am in love!”
Second Day, September 22
We opened our first morning with group devotion before proceeding to have a hearty breakfast buffet. This has been our routine every morning for the entire week.
That reminded me of my wonderful days at the European Theological Seminary where community prayer and devotion are a priority!
Mrs. Landin, faculty member of the Waldense Theological Seminary, brought us to a journey through the “Early Christianity in Rome”. She conducted a very informative lecture from which we learned how the early Christians back then, trying to escape persecution met in house churches (domus ecclessiae). These are privately owned houses disguised as business areas. We visited Casa Romane, a house dating back to the third century AD, showcasing breath-taking original but restored frescoes.
One room which impressed a lot on me was the area where the early Christians used to meet and pray. Here, there are paintings in an area which is perceived to be an altar. The paintings depict images symbolic of God´s power in the lives of His people. The paintings were expressions of art and were not meant to be worshipped. This might have been the origin of using images in churches in the years that followed.
Later during the day, I joined Yeun (Korea), Petrus (Indonesia), Shifu and Sam (China) in the quest for the prison where the Apostle Paul had been detained. We, however, did not succeed. Instead, we ended up visiting some of the main tourist areas of Rome like the Colosseum, the Forum Romano and the Palatinum.
Sometimes, you succeed, at other times you fail.
That´s life.
But what´s important is what you decide to do afterwards.
That has been, for me, a full dose of ancient ruins which I so love!
In the evening, we had a meeting at Sant´ Egidio where most of us where touched by how such an organization would cater to the needs of the less fortunate like the orphans, the migrants and asylum-seekers, the homeless. Christianity these days is often equated with comfort that we tend to forget how Jesus called us to be a brother and a sister to the needy. Our meeting concluded with prayer at the Sant´ Egidio Church.
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25:40
Finally, we had pizza for dinner. 🙂
Third Day, September 23
We were at the Vatican to meet with Msgr. Matthias Türk. The funny thing about it was the excitement he did not hide when I introduced myself to be from Würzburg. Later, he told us that he was born in Würzburg. It has been a great meeting with him. He is very intelligent, humorous and most of all, one can sense that the Lord works through him. He told us briefly about his book “From conflict to communion” which showcases the differences between Roman Catholic and Lutheran theology and how these differences could be resolved. Below is a link for the electronic version of the book in case you are interested.
https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/From%20Conflict%20to%20Communion.pdf
Afterwards, we visited two Protestant churches – an early Baptist church with well-preserved original interior and baptistry, as well as the Waldensian church. The baptistry allowed us to understand the transition from the traditional practice of infant baptism towards an adult form of baptism.
Mrs. Landin then took us to the best cafe in Rome and I had a good Italian hot chocolate!
In the afternoon, I joined Petrus and Sam in exploring more of Rome. What I liked and enjoyed the most being with these two brothers was that we go to where we planned to go – no detours, very straightforward. Typical men. It saved us a lot of time, I must say. Then afterwards, like most brothers they got very hungry. So we had to eat. And I mean, really eat. 🙂
Later in the evening, Professor Fulvio Ferrario gave us an infomal lecture about the “Church Reformation and the role of the Waldensian Church in Rome” after our festive dinner with pasta as the main dish. I must confess, I was so full from our lunch so I played with my pasta and just ate the side dish (i.e. baby carrots).
Did not finish her pasta. Not a good girl. 😦
She did not deserve the panna cotta but ate it anyway.
Fourth Day, September 24
We went to the Vatican and had an awesome experience seeing the St. Peter´s Basilica, Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Many of the things I saw awakened the little girl in me who used to only read those things from her encyclopedia.
The pages of my childhood encyclopedia came alive!
After our eyes were fed with delights of the Vatican and Michaelangelo´s genius, we had lunch at a very nice restaurant. We had the usual three-course Italian meal: anti-pasti and salad, pasta and dessert.
In 
the late afternoon, we went to the Esquilino quarter, the part of Rome inhabited mostly by migrants. Here, we were shown a mosque, a Buddhist temple, Catholic churches such as the Mother of Perpetual Help Church, among others. The best treat for me, however, had been our trip to the Esquilino market (a market that smells like a market as I knew it from my home country) where I saw some vegetables I have been missing so much like water cress, bitter melon and gourd.
The bad news was: I cannot bring any of them home!
I was so touched to have experienced a part of Rome not known to many tourists. For me, it has been a solid reflection of an ecumenical society seeking to live together in peace and harmony. That is the model of the modern-day church. The body of Christ may be composed of various cultures, tongues and may even differ in traditions and doctrines. Nonetheless, we are all intertwined and bound by the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Father through the works of the Holy Spirit.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.Psalm 133
Being a part of an international church with members representing nationalities from across the globe, I was able to connect deeply with the things I experienced from this guided tour.
.הִנֵּה מַה טוֹב = Hine mah tov
Behold how good
וּמַה נָּעִים = uMah-Nayim
and how pleasing
שֶׁבֶת אָחִים גַּם יַחַד = shevet achim gam yachad
if brothers (people) could sit together in unity
To end the day, our tour guide brought us to the best ice cream parlor in Rome. It was such a new experience for me, living in Germany where Germans are Germans – well-organized at mostly everything. Everything has to be orderly and to the point. In Rome, I experienced scurrying to get my ice cream amidst a very thick crowd after paying in line at the counter. So, only the paying part had a queue. The getting your ice cream part was chaotic. In that sense, I am proud of Germany and my German loved-ones!
Fifth Day, September 25
We had the chance to sleep off until late for the day. We did not have devotion since it was Sunday. Of course, it is the Lord´s Day. We attended church conducted in German and Italian. It is the only Evangelical Lutheran church in Rome.
Okay. So we failed to find the building where the Apostle Paul was supposedly imprisoned on our second day. But we did not give up. Determination has been our game! And we succeeded. We had been to the Tres Fontane (Three Fountains) were Paul was supposedly martyred, according to tradition. We were all thrilled!
Our final evening at the hotel was nothing but wonderful. We had another festive meal with pasta as the main dish. Our evening culminated with a final exchange of impressions and thoughts plus a fun-filled game! We spent the final evening at the rooftop of our hotel with a majestic view of the Vatican at night.
Sixth Day, September 26
After the morning devotion and breakfast, we had some free time before heading to the airport. Yeun treated me to some fresh orange juice and ice cream at a cute little cafe.
I could not speak for the other roommates but I know I had the best! Quoting her,
“It would be impossible for all of us to be able to get together in a tour like this but it is possible with Jesus!”
I couldn´t agree more!
And with that, I could say I had so far the best study tour I have ever had in my life. I can only praise the Lord for it and for the bunch of amazing people I came to know.
Yes, despite its original grandeur falling into ruins, Rome remains to be a city teeming with antiquity, history and culture that only it possesses! Rome is after all, ROME! And it has found its way to my heart.
However, after five straight days of anti-pasti, pizza and pasta, I could not even take another look at the uncooked spaghetti in my cupboard!
NOTE: Our study tour was a part of a project under the leadership of Pastors Markus and Ati Hildebrandt-Rambe and Susane Odin of the Intercultural Evangelical Alliance – Bavaria.
Simply Ellaine 