Yes, Scott is leaving us soon--in less than two weeks now. He will fly home with Marianne and Stephanie, spend a month at home (trying to beat Mark at a game of chess, most likely) and get ready for his mission (but I'm sure my sisters have that all under control!). Wow, will we miss him! We'll miss his teasing, his laughter, and his fun.
But who woulda thought . . .
that a boy from "happy valley" in Utah would be graduating from Marymount, an international Catholic school in Rome, Italy!
Who woulda thought . . .
that a boy who didn't really learn about different peoples of the world until coming to Italy would become so socially conscious and even take on "poverty" as his theme for his IB art projects.
Who woulda thought . . .
that a boy who had completely fallen arches that were somewhat corrected with some kind of pins implanted with surgery when he was five or six would be named as MVP on the boys' varsity basketball team and Most Improved on the boys' varsity volleyball team. Or that he would be one of eight students on the "Dream Team" and that he would be named "Sportsman of the Year."
Who woulda thought . . .
that a boy who didn't learn to read until 4th grade would be wearing the National Honor Society insignia when he graduated.
Who woulda thought. . .
that a boy who once asked his mother how to make friends would make friends from all over the world.
Who woulda thought . . .
that a boy who went through some very difficult times when he was young would turn into such a loved and respected young man.
Who woulda thought . . .
that he would be named "a true ambassador of America" by the American Women's Association of Rome. And might I add, he has been a true ambassador of our church as well as he has answered many questions about our beliefs and why he will be serving as a missionary for the next two years of his life.
Like any mother, I could go on, but I know I've already embarrassed him enough. I distinctly remember when we told our children that we had been asked by our church to move to Rome, Italy for three years. I especially remember Scott wiping tears away as he said, "It's OK, I'll be fine. I'm really OK."
I knew he was disapponted. I knew that he wanted to play basketball for the school team. And he did -- just for another school. He played hard and he played with heart. He loved his teammates and his coaches. And not only did he play basketball, but he was able to also play volleyball. As part of the sports program, he traveled around Italy and participated in the European finals in Germany where they won second place in their division last year. And young boys on the junior high team looked up to him. Cool.
I knew that he wanted to try out for a student government position because he had watched his older sister as she led the studentbody at PGHS. He loved the fact that she loved everyone and wanted to make things fun for them. He was able to experience some of that as studentbody secretary at Marymount. He certainly loved everyone and definitely made things fun!
I knew that it would be challenging for him to finish his school year in another country without his friends. But I know that he would honestly say that things happened exactly as they should have -- and he was most definitely amongst friends.
To sum up just who Scott is, I want to end with a story that happened a week or so ago when some friends of ours were visiting. Scott had only one class during the day and told them that when he finished with class he would ride the bus and meet up with them to tour some parts of Rome. In Piazza Venezia, there is a very large government building called Il Vittoriano. At the top of this building is a great place for taking pictures of the Roman Forum and Colosseum. They climbed a lot of stairs to the top -- only to discover that the gate was locked. As they started back down the stairs, the father of this family said that he was going to run around the front (keep in mind this is a Huge building) and take pictures. As the mother, her two daughters, and Scott were about halfway down the stairs, they heard a woman screaming. Scott realized that there was a woman huddled on the ground across the street with two large men threatening her. He took off without thinking about what could happen and told the men (in Italian) to leave her alone and that they shouldn't treat her like that. They yelled at him to leave and said that she was Romanian and didn't belong there. He said, well, maybe not, but it was no excuse to treat her like that! They roughed him up a bit and threw him against a wall. About that time, a police car pulled up and they hustled the woman into the car. Thinking that the incident was over, he started to cross the street back to the mom and two daughters (who were very much hoping that the father would come back!). The men had other ideas though and were mad. They ran after him, grabbed him and tried to put him into their car. He fought against them and said that he would not go with them. They said that he had no business getting involved and that the woman was an illegal and they were trying to take care of it. They finally flashed a badge, telling him that they were police and again tried to put him into their car. He didn't know for sure, even then, if they were really policemen, but even if they were, he knew that he could be taken somewhere and beaten or worse. He thought that perhaps someone would have understood the situation and would come to his rescue, but no one did. He was very scared. As it turned out, they were undercover cops with an unmarked car. Our friend (the mom) worked up some courage and went across the street, pointed to herself and said, "Me, mamma." They started asking for "documents" (such as a passport or any type of ID) and she said they didn't have his with them. They insisted on it, thinking that he was illegal as well and was working with this woman from Romania. Some street vendors who could speak both Italian and English finally stepped in and helped with translation as Scott explained that he was just trying to protect a woman from being beaten and that they should understand. They finally backed down and, after taking down his address and phone number, let him go.
Keep it up, Scott. We're so proud of this kid. He continually does what is right. There's not a time that I visit the school that I don't hear something good about him. At graduation, I overheard a student from one of the younger grades say, "You'll never go wrong, Scott." He has certainly made the most of what was given him. Yes, this has definitely been a wonderful experience. Who woulda thought things would turn out the way they did?
You're right.
God did.
He knew all along.
How grateful we are for His foresight, guidance, and protection and all the many blessings, big and small, that He gives to to us every day. And for this life-changing experience.
