Orange Pickin'

I looked back two years through my photos to see that oranges were coming in season at this time of year. But not in Virginia, I was in the middle of Sicily, at a place called the Valle dei Margi. They are on a 250 acre active orange grove and run an agri tourism bed, breakfast, dinner and conference center. I was hosted by a local Sicilian man who I'd been working with for the past 3 years and he brought us to this great spot located about 30 minutes south of Catania. Another coworker, an American and first time visiting Italy, thought I knew everything about Italy so asked if there were snakes in these parts. I'd never seen one in the 5 or so trips that I'd make to Sicily, and the only thought that came to mind of a snake in the Mediterranean, was from the story of the Apostle Paul when on his journey to Rome, was shipwrecked, wintered on the Island of Malta, and was bitten by a viper. I retold the story from Acts 28:3 as I remembered it, and when our Sicilian friend returned, we asked him the same question. It was an amazing confirmation to me of the truth of the Bible in his answer, in clear Sicilian english, "here in Sicily we have the deadly viper snake."

Acts 28:3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.