In May of last year my dear wife and I along two friends (Ciro and Marsha) traveled to Italy made possible by the generosity of some of the folks at our Church as a retirement gift. We spent ten days traveling around enjoying the sights and the people. The highlight for me was to visit the town where the Travisano family came from. Laviano is a small town south east of Naples. While there we connected to some people who were gracious enough to show us around town. The town had be badly destroyed in an earthquake in 1980 so the rebuilt town looked nothing like it did in 1913 when my Dad was born. At the end of the day we made our way to the town cemetery and found my Grandfathers grave stone and a large number of others who were related to my grandparents.
As we were leaving we stopped to take a picture of our little group and asked the lady, pictured above, who just happened to be walking by, to help us. She was more than happy to do so, but as she did she kept looking at me. She pointed at me and said in Italian, " You're from here!" She asked my name and when I told her she knew of my Grandfather and his father!
Between this event and walking about in the town I had heard so much about since I was a child I felt so connected to all those in my family: both those who had lived and died there and those who traveled to America so many years ago.
In 1981 my late wife Cindy and I had the honor to travel to Israel with Pastor Chuck Smith along with 50 other pastors and their wives. We had never been to Israel and we were looking forward to spending the time in the land we had all heard about for so long. As our plane neared the coast of Israel at night we could see the lights of some of the cities. Pastor Chuck began to sing a chorus of praise and almost all of those in the plane joined in. I looked out the window at the lights and teared up because even though I was not Jewish I felt as if I was coming home. How was this possible? My home town was in New Jersey yet in my heart of hearts I felt so connected to the land of Israel.
Several years ago I read a book called, "Heaven," written by Randy Alcorn. In it the author gave a detailed account from the pages of scripture what he believed Heaven would be like. As I read it I became more excited about going there. The more I read about Heaven the more I felt like being in Heaven would be like coming finally home.
The Travisano family, as far as I can tell, had it's origin in a small town in southern Italy. They landed in Ellis Island,settled in New Jersey and New York. Some of them have had hearts connected to the small country Israel and a place called Heaven made possible by a man called Jesus who was not Italian but Jewish. I was born in Newark New Jersey, but I don't think I want to live there anymore. I've thought about having my remains buried back in Laviano where my family had it's start, but I don't think I want to live there either. The Israel of today is far removed from the Israel we read of in the Bible, so it's a nice place to visit, but I don't see myself living there. There is a place however that I am looking forward to living in: the New Earth in a body that will not have any of the hindrances that this present one has. That day last year in Laviano was a day when I felt so connected to who I am and I was blessed. It however is no where near to that day that I am looking forward to: when I'm finally at home. I wonder if you have thought about going home? The way there begins with an honest look at the New Testament and a open heart to what it proclaims. Hope to see you there.
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