Day 7 – Friday, December 25th, 2009 – Rome

March 13, 2010

Merry Christmas! On this glorious day, we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Immanuel; Savior; King of Kings! We are so thankful for YOU, Jesus; happy birthday!

I was up before everyone else this morning… hurray! Katie joined me around 7:45; then the kids. We had a huge breakfast at the hotel – back to the big, grand breakfasts again! After breakfast, we used the potty and then hopped in a taxi for the Vatican. We arrived around 11:00 am, and entered St. Peter’s Square. The crowd was beginning to grow, it was a festive atmosphere. We found four seats together in the front section. Events started around 11:30 with a procession involving several types of guards. The pope made his appearance at 12:00 pm sharp, and gave what seemed to be a lovely benediction. Seeing the pope on Christmas day in Rome… this was the highlight of our day today.

After this, we waited in line and toured the Basilica… impressive! We stopped for a bite to eat at a place near the square. It was nice looking on the outside and I knew it would be expensive and bad. It exceeded my expectations on both fronts. So, after that, we walked through Rome trying to find our shuttle but to no success. As we walked, I noted the traffic in Rome. Most of our walk was along a busy street and it has a busy feel like any other major city. Rome also seems to be more spread out than I expected… certainly more so that Venice!

We grabbed a taxi and then headed back to our hotel. We showered, opened some Christmas gifts, then went down for dinner at the hotel restaurant. We stayed up late again tonight, talking and skyping with family.

Thank you, Jesus, for your blessings and for loving us… for loving ME… even though I don’t deserve it! Thank you for being REAL to me… not just a religion or an ornate ceremony, but a personal Savior. Thank you for being my Master and the Lord of my life. Thank you for being born 2,000 years ago in a manger, and taking my sins to the cross with you. I rejoice in the truth that You came, died, and then rose again!

Random: Gabriel must have asked a hundred times today, “can we go see the pope”? “Can we see where he sleeps?” “What is the pope doing now”? It was great.