A glance out my front door...

I forgot one of the things about living on via Farini- the beautiful Jewish synagogue of Firenze just a few steps outside my door.

What God is Teaching Me

I talked to my daddy on the phone last night and got to talk to him about the things God was really teaching me while I've been here. I thought I'd share a few things with you.

1). I just finished reading (a quick read that took me a month to finally finish because of lack of time) Woodrow Kroll's How to Find God in the Bible. It was really interesting to me to see again all the proofs that the bible is a real, historical document of evidence as well as a the God-breathed word on how we should live. I appreciate it more knowing how long it has been around, how many manuscripts of the book we have to this day, and how much history is really involved with it.

2). God is SO big. Did you know that I get to wake up every morning and talk to the Creator of the earth? I get to know personally the same God that spoke to Moses through a burning bush, the God that flooded the earth, and put breath into man. God has been the same today, yesterday and 3000 years ago. I know this seems like a revelation I should have had a long time ago, and I always knew these things, but I guess I didn't really 'get' it. I stand in awe, more than ever, at His absolute majesty. It makes me fall down on my knees and compels me to obedience.

3). I was talking to a friend a few days ago on the phone and he said he was talking to someone that wanted to start a church plant in Rome. Knowing I was in Florence, he asked his friend how many Christians lived there. His answer was 6. Obviously, this might be an exaggeration, but I don't think it is a very big one. Life, my friends, is a mission field. I kept trying to figure out why God sent me here- there has to be a reason, right? To grow musically, to learn the language, yes, but what else? Then I woke up and thought about the 6 Christians living here and how much of a responsibility they have to show Christ to others and to spread the Word in such a God-less city. Well, I am here. That makes 7. And then it was settled in my mind. I am here to tell these people about Jesus. My apartment is a mission field, my school is a mission field, the train is a mission field. I must be bold. I must step out of the comfort zone of myself and tell people why I am so happy all the time. Pray for me... it is not easy.

Well, I could go on because God is good in showing me many things, but this post is getting a little ridiculously long.

I also wanted to give a little CONGRATULATIONS to my best friend. Emily Ann Taylor and I have been friends now for 15 years and I am honored to announce her engagement to Ryan Swearingen, a kind, wonderful man of God. I also have the immense honor of standing up for her as a bridesmaid at her wedding next summer. I am so sorry I could not be there to hug you and cry and tell you how excited I am for you in person, so I will send my Congrats out into the Blog World and hope as many people as possible hear me.
I love you, Emily! Congratulations to you both!

My Little Corner of the World

I realized yesterday that I hadn’t shown you around my apartment. How rude of me! It’s been a month, and you haven’t even seen where I live. Where are my manners…sheesh. So, here is my little corner of the world- via Farini, 15.

The Residents

(from left to right: Maxine, Amy, Nicole, Lizzy)
My apartment is actually quite big, much bigger than we were all expecting it to be. It has two large rooms, one Amy and Lizzy live and the other with myself, Max and Nicole. There is a kitchen, one and half baths, a very small living room and my favorite part- the window beside my bed.

The kitchen


The Living Room (if it can be called that), with the small bathroom right off of it.
That green chair might look comfortable, but don’t be fooled. I know we all were.


One and a…


…half baths.


Amy and Lizzy’s Room


My bed, and the window beside it (I couldn’t get the entire room into a picture, so you only get to see my bed, sorry). Oh, and you can also see my plant on my nightstand!


My favorite part of my apartment is this lovely view out into the neighbor’s garden. If it weren’t for the mosquitoes, it would be open all the time.


So, that is where I live, and I love it. It is about a 15 minute walk to everywhere (except church, which is about 30min, but totally worth it). Thanks for visiting, and I hope you come again soon!

Venice- Rain or Shine

I stepped off the train in Venezia and saw one of the most people places I have ever been to. It was unreal-- docks that went right up to houses and people getting into water taxis just to get to their hotels. Yes, this place exists, and now I have first hand experiences with it.
The first night we spent just walking around. We only had two hours before the shuttle took us to our hostle, so we just took pictures and enjoyed the night time in this city. The next morning we got up, took the shuttle into the city again and walked around all day. I was just amazed at the little walkways, the bridges, the alleys, the hanging baskets, the people and their little doors, but most of all I was taken with the buildings. There is so much history, so much life in all of them. The facade would be cracked and falling off, but the vine would still be growing up- not just growing, but thriving.
The gondoliers are just for tourists, going for 90 Euro a ride... we obviously didn't do it.
Dad, look at these hanging baskets... why don't yours look like this? hehe... The food here was of course wonderful and we all had great experiences with that-- fresh mozzerella and beautiful bread (as seen in the pictures below), it doesn't get much better than that. A few girls had an asapragus and basil soup that was outstanding.
One of the best things that happened in Venice was that it rained. That might sound silly and pretty cliche (Oh, rain is so pretty! blahblah), but in Venice, it was awesome. The stone streets were shiny from the rain and the canals were flooding everywhere. We were soaked from about 6pm to about midnight. We walked all around Venice and dodged busy streets by darting into small alleys. It was so fun. One of my roommates said rain seemed different in Italy with a big smile on her face-- after two hours of being completely wet, she looked at me and took her words back.
I would like to go back to Venice someday with a smaller group of people and visit a lot more of the museums and such. Two days in a city like that is just not enough. Maybe I will get to go there again while I am here. Or maybe you guys can come visit me and we will go! That will give me an excuse. But rain or shine, Venice is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It has so much character.
The hardest thing about being here, like I have said to a lot of you, is not being able to share these things with you. I miss being around you, all our conversation and hearing about your lives. Please know that I pray for you daily and think about you all the time.
Here are a few more pictures for you all:

Look at the size of those IVY!One of the many beautiful cathedrals in Venice.

Much love to all of you! God bless!

It's coming...

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My computer has seen its last days (LCD screen broke) and its a little harder to get on to the computer. The computers at school have a 20 minute time limit, which is not enough time to email and blog, so hopefully my new computer arrives soon so that I can update you once again. There is an Internet place down the street that I have a membership too, so I might be able to visit that a few times, too. I can't wait to show you pictures of my weekend trip to Venice! Email me and let me know how you are doing. I have loved looking at your blogs! So, keep those posts coming. I hope you have a wonderful day!

A few highlights of Firenze

There are so many things in Firenze that I love. The shops, the churches, the cappucino-- pretty much everything. I just wanted highlight a few wonderful things I have seen thus far.
About a week ago, we went out to celebrate Jose's birthday. Him and his girlfriend, April, very dear people, are from Southern California and are so much fun to be around. Because Jose is from Mexico, we decided to go to a Mexican restaurant, which turned out to be some of the best food I had ever had. Not only was the food great, but his "birthday cake" was amazing.

Here it is up close and personal. Yeah, even the Mexican restaurants in Florence do birthday's RIGHT. So (I know this will come as a shocker to most of you), wonderful thing #1: the food.
Walking around Florence is one of the most fun things to do. Watching the Italians do their thing and pretend no one is around, watching the tourist being all touristy, and watching the street vendors harass the shoppers. But there is culture here, there is life here, and there is art. Walking around Florence and being able to see the amazing art in the buildings, in the store windows, and above all in the people, is wonderful thing #2.
This is one of the many Florentines that shows here artwork on the sidewalk using nothing but chalk, and talent.
And the last wonderful thing for today (there will be more to come soon), is pretty self explanatory, especially from the pictures I have posted thus far. Wonderful thing #3: The views.

This is the view of the Duomo from the Palazzo Pitti.

I am talking this picture standing on the Ponte Vecchio bridge, the only bridge in Florence that wasn't bombed in WWII. One of the best views in Florence thus far that I've seen: down the Arno River (this one is for you, Diana).

God has put Psalm 37 on my heart these last few days. I know we have all read it so many times, but for some reason it is really coming alive to me. Read it again and see what you think.
I hope you all have a wonderful day. I miss and love you all very much.

Cinque Terre

Christine is our Site Director here at the Instituto Europeo. She was the first person we met after we got off the plane, the one that found the broom in our apartment, and the one who takes us on the "excursions" that we are promised entering the program. Yesterday we went on our first excursion. It was one of the most enjoyable days of my life and I wished that every one of you were there to share it with me.
We hopped on the train in Firenze to Cinque Terre, a chain of 5 little towns on the western coast of Italy traveled through by train, by boat, or by walking. When we walked around the corner of the train station, not knowing what to expect at all and a little dazed from the 3 hour train ride, we saw a little slice of heaven.

I spent the day walking/boating to the different towns, shopping in the little boutiques, laying out on the rocks and dipping my feet into the Mediterranean. WHAT? Did that ACTUALLY HAPPEN? To tell you the truth, I was completley speechless all day. People kept asking what was wrong, and I would look around me and then back at them and say "Is this for real?". God is so good. This earth he has given us to enjoy is something we should never take for granted. We should see His might, His power, and His glory in all of these things regardless of our circumstances. And that is certainly what God taught me yesterday.

It's not easy being alone here. I have met no Christians, and miss all of you so much. But through my wonderful experience yesterday with God's majesty, I know that I will never, ever, be alone. Look out your window and thank God for the things you see and treasure seeing Christ in that special way.

Here are some other pictures I thought you'd enjoy!
God Bless

Falling in Love with Italy

I am here in Firenze, Italia and am quickly falling in love with everything about it. I live in a two bedroom apartment with one and a half baths and 4 roommates, all from the States. I am taking 3 hours of Italian classes everyday (which figures out to be about 12 credits of Italian... 4 semesters of Italian in one... yikes!), a Florentine architecture class that takes us to the places we are studying, and a voice lesson. Here is the view from outside the window of my classroom at the Instituto Europeo.

This building is called the Duomo, the biggest and most recognized cathedral in Florence. Here is a better picture of it from the street outside the door of my school.

My classes are small, only about 12 people in them (one of the students is from Slippery Rock and one is from New Castle! How crazy is that!?). I had my first voice lesson the other day and it went so well. She got me to sing higher and with better tone than I ever have in my life. She is very excited to see where my training will take me, and so am I.
I feel like in some ways I haven't awoken from a dream yet. It is all very overwhelming and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. Pray that I draw near to Christ in all that I do and that I work hard for His glory. There is so much to do and so much to see I am easily distracted. But I see Him in everything here; in the buildings, the art, some of the people, and definitley the cappucino. It does not get much better than waking up early in the morning, spending some time with God, getting ready for the day, and then walking to the Duomo for class and on the way stopping at my favorite Caffe for some of the best cappucino in the world.

Here are my roommates and a few of my classmates on the side of the Arno :-).


I do have a cell phone number. You can call from a land line using a calling card (which would probably be most cost efficent for you). All of my incoming calls are free, but calling to the US is about 60 cents a minute. To get outside the country dial 011. Italy's country code (what you dial next) is 39. And my number is 335 7751 624. So all together:

My cell phone number: 011 39 335 7751 624

My address is
Kate Meyer
Instituto Europeo
Piazza delle Pallottole n.1 (Duomo)
Firenze, Italy 50122

Hope to hear from you guys! KM_in_Italy@yahoo.com.
I love you and am missing you all so much.

On My Way

I'm sitting at Pittsburgh International Airport ready and waiting to board my plane to Newark. Then from Newark to Rome. Then from Rome to Florence. Wow. Long day. If you see this, please send up a prayer for me.

I just wanted to let you all know that I started an alternate email address for people that wanted to email me and back and forth totally can. I didn't want to clog my Grove City account too badly while I was away. So, here ya go. Email me at will.

KM_in_Italy@yahoo.com

Hope to hear from you soon!

Graham Crappers

My family is possibly the coolest thing EVER in my life (right after Jesus, of course). I get home and there are the fixins to make a gourmet Greek meal complete with feta wraps, greek olives, and fried egplant. I haven't been that happy in a long time and not just because of the amazing food. Daddy at the grill, Beth at the cutting board, Marcia at the stove and Abbey and I trying desperately to wrap the feta filling with dried out fillo dough. I forgot while I was at camp how much I loved to cook with my family. They bring more joy into my life than anything ever could. Right after dinner we had a photo session because all of us will probably not be all together again for quite some time. It was certainly a feat to get a real picture taken.

Case in point.
My uncle Teddy, the one taking the picture, had a hard time getting a good one because every time he counted down from 3 we had something planned to do; either turn around, do jazz hands (as seen above) or, our favorite, attack Vitaly. All in all, it was a great time. I am so glad my dad decided to take family pictures after I had been "no make-up"ed and in a car for 7 hours... yummy.

My boy scout brothers and father have had a fire going perpetually from Saturday night until... well... I think it is still lit, actually. Beth and I asked everyone if they wanted us to get stuff for s'mores last night and Vitaly mentioned breifly how we needed to buy some more "graham crappers". Realizing what he had said, he started cracking up and fell on the floor as did everyone else in the room. S'mores in the Meyer house will now only be complete if we have the graham crappers. What do you expect when the word "crapper" is said around a 12 year old boy?

Leaving and Going Again.

I leave Camp-of-the-Woods tomorrow morning at 6am. I'm not really sure how to feel about it. As I said in my last post, it's strange for me. I'm leaving a place to get ready to go to a place that I have never been to before. All I want to do is go home as quickly as possible to see my family who is waiting with open arms and Greek food on the table. God will take care of the rest of the week; the packing, the seeing people, the shopping, the getting the hair cut. God is SO good in not allowing me to worry about these things.

I'm ready to go. I'm ready to be alone with God and trust Him completley with my entire circumstance. I pray that He uses me wherever He takes me and that I can be a instrument of His peace and love. I thank the Lord for the wonderful experience here and the amazing people I have had the opportunity to meet. You are all wonderful and have been so blessed.

I will be home from August 20th until I fly out on the 26th. Let me know if you want to hang out! I would love to see as many people as I can before I leave. I love you all.

The Social Hall

I came to the social hall this afternoon to complete my "Pre-departure Orientation" for my study abroad experience. It talked about how I need to make sure not to talk about how much money I have and how cheap everything is in Italy-- in essence, don't be an "ugly American". I think I can handle that. So, don't scream about how "behind the times" Italy is and how much better everything is in the States and stereotype everyone who walks by. Got it. Good thing my wonderful brothers in Christ were with me to laugh about all of this. I am going to miss them.

I am at a very strange part in my life. I think about this place and how wonderful it has been and the amazing people that I have met and I become super sentimental and thankful. Then I think about how much I am going to miss them all and I get really sad worried that I am never going to talk to them again. I then think about all of my friends at home that I haven't talked to in so long and how it is going to be a very very long time until I talk to them again like I want to-- when I am around them and with them. Then I think about the 5 days I have at home before I leave for Florence and how many people I want to see in that time and how I am never going to see everyone I want to. The expectation of my time at home is way up high and I think I need to just give it to God. I need to set it apart and let all of my plans fall into His hands. It's the only way I am going to be happy and not be sad and guilty for not seeing everyone I want to. And then there is Italy. What to expect, what my classes will be like, who my roommates will be... everything.

If you think about it, send up a prayer for me. You are all in my prayers daily and I thank you for your phone calls and cards. I am so blessed by each one of you. Love you.

I love my family.

Hello everyone. I hope you all are doing wonderfully and are enjoying summer. It's been extremely busy around here and extremely warm as well. Now that I have cut off all of my hair, it's much easier for it to become COMPLETLEY drenched with sweat when I am working up at the "Hill" where I serve 9 meals a week. Did I mention there is no air conditioning in the building? Hey- I'm not complaining... I've lost 10 lbs since I've been here merely from sweating so much. Awesome.

So, my whole family is together in Greenville at this very moment without me. That's right. Without me. I guess Chip and Marcia aren't there either... so I guess I don't feel that bad. But still... they are all having fun without me and I don't like it, I tell you... not one bit.

I'm not really sure if anyone actually reads this, but if you do, could you put me in your prayers? Some classes fell through over in Italy for next semester and I am trying to work everything out for it as best as I can. I'm not really sure what's going to happen, what I'm going to take, or really much of anything at this point, but if you could all lift it up to the Big Guy, I would certainly appreciate it. I'm becoming more and more scared to go and as much as I know it is God's will for me to do so, I am trying very hard to trust that He is going to work it all out. And I know He will. Thanks.

I miss everyone so much.

Rainy Saturday

God woke me up this morning around 6:00am (I didn't have to be anywhere until about 8:30am). I am really glad He did too. I had laundry waiting to be folded in the laundry room and coffee waiting to be made in the kitchen and clothes to be ironed in my room-- so much to do and ample time to do it. I was able to make one of my coffee-addict roommates coffee this morning and the entire process just reminded me of how much I love mornings. It was raining too-- how perfect is that? It's so calm, so serene and just gentle.
You all know me well enough to know how incredibly opinionated I am. I guess for a long time I struggled with being that way. The opinions I have I didn't want. They made people look at me differently. The convictions I had I didn't want because I was going to somehow offend someone. And Thessalonians talks about minding your own business and making it an ambition to lead a quiet life so I was mad that I wasn't that way. But mornings remind me that I love my life. The remind me of the quiet life I have in Christ and the peace that He surrounds me with everyday. They remind me of His love and grace and His gentleness. And I got all of that from folding two loads of laundry and making coffee... man... God IS awesome.

It's HOT up here.

So, I had a wonderful day at the beach with a bunch friends yesterday. It was super hot and I loved every moment of it. It made me miss the Outer Banks SO much. But God is good- I thank Him for air-conditioned Wenger practice rooms and ice cream after concerts.

Here are the boy singers: Kit, Jamie, Peter, and Joshua after the Saturday night concert eating ice cream and getting quite cozy on the couch. Aren't they just so cute :-).



I got a few letters today from a few of you lovely people-- thank you so much for thinking of me. It was wonderful to hear how you are doing. I especially apprecite the frog-shaped water gun, my dear Ruth. That made my day! You all continue to be in my prayers as I miss you all so much. God Bless.

Oh, Ho-Down!

Well, it has been one heck of a week up here at Camp-of-the-Woods. Today the Dr. and Mrs. Browne are coming to grace camp with their amazing presence and I cannot wait to see them. I only get them for a week and then I won't see them until I get back from Italy, so I'm pretty excited.


This week was the annual staff "Ho-Down" where everyone dresses up in ridiculous outfits and square-dances the night away. A very nice gentlemen, by the name of Ben, asked me to attend this function with him and I accepted. Needless-to-say, we all had a wonderful time. It was definitley a workout, but so much fun.

Just like every weekend up here, we have a concert. Tonight, is the dreaded "Disney Dazzle" comprised of 15 different songs from the lovely Disney movies of our childhood. And guess who gets to the "Belle" solo? That is right-- yours truly. I know you're jealous girls...

Yes, I am alive...

Hey everyone. I hope all is well in your lives and God is blessing you abundantly. I have been praying for everyone so much and I think about everyone almost constantly. I would love to hear from you and see how your summers are all going! Drop me a line if you've got the chance!

So, I got a blog because I figured everyone was doing it. And because I kind of feel like I dropped off of the face of the planet and no one knows what I am doing or what I am up to. So, yay for the internet and yay for blogs and me finally succumbing to it all.

I am up here in Speculator, NY, at a Christian resort and conference center called Camp-of-the-Woods. It is right on Lake Pleasant in the Adirondack State Park. We have about 1200 guests each week and really great speakers (Josh McDowell and, his son, Sean McDowell just left-- incredible!). I work about 65 hours a week rehearsing, waiting tables and performing. I am apart of the 32 person music staff in which I am a member of the octet of singers. We sing everything from contemporary Christian stuff to Broadway to classical. It's been pretty great working with singers that are way better than me-- gives me lots of motivation. We perform every night except for Tuesday (our day off-- we call it Christmas) so we definitely keep busy. There is almost no cell service here (the reason most of you have not heard from me) but the lake is gorgeous and the weather has been wonderful. The people up here are also quite wonderful and I have really been enjoying getting to know the guests as well. We serve at the same section at the dining hall all week so we really get to know them and then they get to see us perform as well!

The best thing about this place though, is that I get to spend so much time with God. I'm learning a lot about why I believe what I believe and also about the love of Christ. How He loves me and why. I know that all seems a little fundamental, but the more and more I know about it, the more complex I know it is. We will never fully understand why God loves us or how, but we do know that we are His children. I never really got that before. His children. Nothing can ever separate us from that love. Nothing we ever do or say can ever make Him turn away from us. How much more that makes me want to follow Him. Wow.
Read the first few verses of 1 John 3.

I hope to hear from you all soon. I will continue to post, maybe even show some pictures of this place up here. I love you and miss you all so much.

I also have a mailing address here if you ever want to send me cool stuff! :-)
Staff, CAMP OF THE WOODS
PO Box 250 (Rt. 30 for packages)
Speculator, NY 12164