Barbeque for Crescere Insieme

We had an end of season barbeque in the country as a final event for the disabled group. They take the summer off and restart in the fall.   I have enjoyed the opportunity to be a volunteer and get to know the participants in the program.  The doctor who oversees the project invited all the kids and parents to his country house for dinner. It was a beautiful house, complete with a fountain in the garden and a pool in the backyard.  We went with the lady from our church that invited me to help and her family.  We didn’t realize that Saturday evening mass was also on the agenda, but stayed respectfully at the back.  The barbeque was full of all sorts of Sicilian delicacies.  There was cozze (shellfish), pane con milza (spleen sandwiches), and stighioli (cow      intestines). Shawn made the most of the meal, being polite and sampling large quantities of all of the above.  I was full, because we didn’t know the other stuff was coming.  (Not that I normally care for those items, although the pane con milza is not terrible if there is cheese on it.)  They also held karioke by the pool for anyone interested.  After dinner, Shawn and the priest who performed the mass had an interesting 2 hour discussion on the differences between Catholics and Evangelicals.  Everyone had a good time and went home very well fed.  It was a good finish to this year’s program.