Wow, it is hard to believe that only 4 days ago I was boarding a plane at 6:30 am from Genova to Munich to Chicago and finally to Kansas City. All of the traveling went smooth. Thankfully the airlines did not have problems early in the morning with the foretold strike, and Janae's ankle was feeling better.
I was yet again reminded that the things I expect to happen usually won't or that I need to be flexible and ready for my plans to change! I planned to sleep during the flight between Munich and Chicago... well, as we were boarding the plane, looking for row 25... I notice a small, very happy girl... she was sitting in the seat next to the number on my ticket... I learned from her mother that she was two and it was her first time to fly since she was a small baby. Let's just say I had a wonderful flight playing with a 2 year-old, but I did not sleep for more than 45 minutes or so. But praise be to God, I got to play with a very sweet little girl, who was amazingly happy and had fun laughing with me.
In Kansas City, Janae and I met with some people at Avant to debrief about our time in Italy. I am still trying to process everything that happened while we were there and all that God has taught me. I am overwhelmed with all that was crammed into those short 6 weeks and saddened that I am no longer there.
I know that one of the lessons and challenges that God taught me is to be happy in the place God has me right now. I cannot worry about the future so much that I do not rejoice where He has me.
Thank you for your prayers through this time. I look forward to sharing more with each of you whenever it is that I see you again! For now I am in Chicago for the next two weeks working for a friend. I will be looking for more work after those two weeks are up, so please pray that something comes up!
I want to come out to Colorado to visit for a few days, but at this point, there is virtually no money in my account because of my Moody school bill that, Praise God, the first payment for the fall semester is completed! If something happens and I am able to make it out to Colorado (maybe the first week in August), I will be sure to let people know! Also, I will be sending out an update letter soon. Please email me if you have questions or anything, I would love to hear from you!
Thank you again for your prayers as God is doing mighty things! I thank Him for you!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Leaving Genova
I was in Rome Monday and Tuesday, for that reason I have not been able to post until now. The last 24 hours have been a whirl. I've spent time packing and tying up some things here before we leave tomorrow morning at 4:30 for the airport! I will be in Kansas City around 7 something pm tomorrow night... hopefully jet lag will not be too bad, not really sure what to expect with that! :)
Pray for safe travel, for Janae, as she hurt her ankle as we were leaving for Rome the other day, and also, pray a lot for our fights to all connect and that we can get on a plane! We found out that tomorrow there is suppose to be an airline strike.... so not sure what this will be like, but we are still planning on leaving on time and all that! I will update you when I arrive in Kansas City about how all the fights went!
Thanks for the prayers, support, encouragement and everything you have done to help with this trip. I have learned so much and I would love to meet with each of you to share what God has done in my life while I've been in Italy. Blessings to you!
Pray for safe travel, for Janae, as she hurt her ankle as we were leaving for Rome the other day, and also, pray a lot for our fights to all connect and that we can get on a plane! We found out that tomorrow there is suppose to be an airline strike.... so not sure what this will be like, but we are still planning on leaving on time and all that! I will update you when I arrive in Kansas City about how all the fights went!
Thanks for the prayers, support, encouragement and everything you have done to help with this trip. I have learned so much and I would love to meet with each of you to share what God has done in my life while I've been in Italy. Blessings to you!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Cultural Observations
Waiting for the bus or in line at the store or at a restaurant for food or even to order may take a long, long, long time. This waiting does not bother Italians, they are quite calm and reserved. They just know that when they go certain places, they will have to wait. There is no hurry in those places. The post office is another one, we waited 2 hours one day, later we found out that is normal.
People are expected to be to work on time and to school on time, but those are about the only places where it matters! About the only fast-moving things here are the cars and scooters when they are going on the streets, the language, and the time I've spent here (it has gone by WAY TOO fast!).
If an Italian has a very dark tan, it probably means they have been at the beach all day everyday, and still they are not dark enough, so they will continue to go to the beach everyday. :) It is not unusual to see topless women at the beach... I have heard though that the beaches here are more modest than Brasil... so take that and think what you like I guess!
The beaches are mostly made of rocks. There are some sandy beaches, but those are far away on a train that one has to pay extra to use. The beach is only crowded when there is no ground empty; with towels and chairs right next to each other over the whole beach.
Italians love to eat. Pasta of course is a staple here. Funny though, I have really not had any pasta with meat sauce or fettuccine alfredo (like we eat in America). Those must be American pastas! They enjoy being creative in their sauces. I have had lots of pesto, vegetables, cheese, cream, tomato sauces. All have been incredible!
Along with the love for food, much time is spent eating. Most shops are closed in the middle of the day til 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon so that everyone can eat lunch. There really doesn't seem to be any sort of schedule for the store hours, it will just be open when it is open.
In the store, when paying, I have to ask for a bag to carry my groceries in. Also, it is very common that the shop keeper/cashier will ask me for a smaller bill or coin so that he does not have to make as much change. There really is not much customer service, to us Americans, they probably come across as pretty lazy!
The overall attitude of the people is relaxed and somewhat cold. They are not accepting people of foreigners. They are relaxed because they are not pressed to be anywhere, but they are not accepting to outsiders of their culture.
There really doesn't seem to be much crime here. I have seen no accidents on the streets since I've been here and I have not heard or seen any crimes. The only thing we are ever warned about is pick-pockets.
I'm sure there is much more, but I thought these observations were fun to share for now! Also, this was a fun post for the 4th of July as I sit by myself in the apartment... Italians do not celebrate United State's Independence Day!! haha So here I am, thinking about what I've learned and maybe, just maybe there will be fireworks out on the water tonight that I can see from the window... hope everyone at home is doing well!
We leave for Rome on Monday, EARLY in the morning. We will be there til Tuesday night. I will try to post again after Rome. Our time is RAPIDLY ending. My heart is being pulled into this city and these people. I might have to leave it here and return with no heart to the states. I have to constantly remember that God's plan is bigger and better than mine and I cannot worry about the future. Right now is the important thing!
Let me know if you have any questions, I'd love to hear from you!
People are expected to be to work on time and to school on time, but those are about the only places where it matters! About the only fast-moving things here are the cars and scooters when they are going on the streets, the language, and the time I've spent here (it has gone by WAY TOO fast!).
If an Italian has a very dark tan, it probably means they have been at the beach all day everyday, and still they are not dark enough, so they will continue to go to the beach everyday. :) It is not unusual to see topless women at the beach... I have heard though that the beaches here are more modest than Brasil... so take that and think what you like I guess!
The beaches are mostly made of rocks. There are some sandy beaches, but those are far away on a train that one has to pay extra to use. The beach is only crowded when there is no ground empty; with towels and chairs right next to each other over the whole beach.
Italians love to eat. Pasta of course is a staple here. Funny though, I have really not had any pasta with meat sauce or fettuccine alfredo (like we eat in America). Those must be American pastas! They enjoy being creative in their sauces. I have had lots of pesto, vegetables, cheese, cream, tomato sauces. All have been incredible!
Along with the love for food, much time is spent eating. Most shops are closed in the middle of the day til 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon so that everyone can eat lunch. There really doesn't seem to be any sort of schedule for the store hours, it will just be open when it is open.
In the store, when paying, I have to ask for a bag to carry my groceries in. Also, it is very common that the shop keeper/cashier will ask me for a smaller bill or coin so that he does not have to make as much change. There really is not much customer service, to us Americans, they probably come across as pretty lazy!
The overall attitude of the people is relaxed and somewhat cold. They are not accepting people of foreigners. They are relaxed because they are not pressed to be anywhere, but they are not accepting to outsiders of their culture.
There really doesn't seem to be much crime here. I have seen no accidents on the streets since I've been here and I have not heard or seen any crimes. The only thing we are ever warned about is pick-pockets.
I'm sure there is much more, but I thought these observations were fun to share for now! Also, this was a fun post for the 4th of July as I sit by myself in the apartment... Italians do not celebrate United State's Independence Day!! haha So here I am, thinking about what I've learned and maybe, just maybe there will be fireworks out on the water tonight that I can see from the window... hope everyone at home is doing well!
We leave for Rome on Monday, EARLY in the morning. We will be there til Tuesday night. I will try to post again after Rome. Our time is RAPIDLY ending. My heart is being pulled into this city and these people. I might have to leave it here and return with no heart to the states. I have to constantly remember that God's plan is bigger and better than mine and I cannot worry about the future. Right now is the important thing!
Let me know if you have any questions, I'd love to hear from you!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Waiting, Dissapointment, Discouragement
This week has been really hard. Many reasons, mostly God is just working on my heart.
My heart is breaking. As I learn more from the team about Christians in Genova and the existing churches here, I am near tears every time.
As Tim told me today, if I were to go out into the historical center of town where many, many people are and asked 500 people if they were born again believers, I would probably not find ONE! Not ONE!
There is such a bitterness here towards church. Any Italian in Genova who hears 'church' thinks of Catholic church and religion.
The existing Evangelical churches in this city are made up of primarily internationals and not lead by Italians. This breaks my heart. There are no Italian churches! Why? And for this reason Avant is in Italy, in Genova. The ministry here is all about people. Plugging into groups of Italians who are influential and have an impact on their social circle. The vision for these groups is to see them come to faith in Jesus and then begin to train others to practice the principles of a church/body of believers. This is a huge challenge, and everything the team does here is based on people and building relationships naturally with people of influence.
As I hear more and my heart breaks more for not only Genova, but Europe in general, I cannot help but desire to be a part of what is happening. As I sat listening to Tim today and Dustin on Monday, I realized how God can use me in this type of ministry because of my love for people. And not only my love for people in a different culture who need Jesus, but my love for working on a team of people. One of the greatest experiences in my life so far has been my job at Moody on the dish crew, that group of people is so diverse with personality, nationality, and backgrounds and yet the 22 of us are able to connect in a way that no other person not a part of our team can understand. We have been called a cult before, maybe we are, but most importantly for me being a part of that group God has taught me what it means to work problems out and be forced to live with the differences of others all striving for one common goal and purpose. The love and the bond that we share is deeper than anything I have ever experienced.
I share this because I see similar qualities in the team members here in Genova. I like the idea of joining a team to be encouraged, challenged, and to work along-side others with the same goal.
Thanks for your prayers. I look forward to sharing more about the trip in general with as many of you as possible when I return. The end is approaching rapidly! Pray for my attitude and to finish strong.
Please email me if you have specific questions or input. I would love to hear from you!
My heart is breaking. As I learn more from the team about Christians in Genova and the existing churches here, I am near tears every time.
As Tim told me today, if I were to go out into the historical center of town where many, many people are and asked 500 people if they were born again believers, I would probably not find ONE! Not ONE!
There is such a bitterness here towards church. Any Italian in Genova who hears 'church' thinks of Catholic church and religion.
The existing Evangelical churches in this city are made up of primarily internationals and not lead by Italians. This breaks my heart. There are no Italian churches! Why? And for this reason Avant is in Italy, in Genova. The ministry here is all about people. Plugging into groups of Italians who are influential and have an impact on their social circle. The vision for these groups is to see them come to faith in Jesus and then begin to train others to practice the principles of a church/body of believers. This is a huge challenge, and everything the team does here is based on people and building relationships naturally with people of influence.
As I hear more and my heart breaks more for not only Genova, but Europe in general, I cannot help but desire to be a part of what is happening. As I sat listening to Tim today and Dustin on Monday, I realized how God can use me in this type of ministry because of my love for people. And not only my love for people in a different culture who need Jesus, but my love for working on a team of people. One of the greatest experiences in my life so far has been my job at Moody on the dish crew, that group of people is so diverse with personality, nationality, and backgrounds and yet the 22 of us are able to connect in a way that no other person not a part of our team can understand. We have been called a cult before, maybe we are, but most importantly for me being a part of that group God has taught me what it means to work problems out and be forced to live with the differences of others all striving for one common goal and purpose. The love and the bond that we share is deeper than anything I have ever experienced.
I share this because I see similar qualities in the team members here in Genova. I like the idea of joining a team to be encouraged, challenged, and to work along-side others with the same goal.
Thanks for your prayers. I look forward to sharing more about the trip in general with as many of you as possible when I return. The end is approaching rapidly! Pray for my attitude and to finish strong.
Please email me if you have specific questions or input. I would love to hear from you!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Go for a Hike
Saturday began with jumping out of bed and dragging ourselves down to the train station at 7:30 in the morning. We got a train and ended up at Cinque Terre, a hiking trail between 5 different villages. We began our 9 kilometer trek at the furthest village. Janae and I covered quite a bit of terrain! It was incredible to see how the land and vegetation varied between each village. We stopped for lunch for a bit in one of the villages. We started our hike about 10:00 and got done around 3:00. Good weather and beautiful view of the sea and mountainside of Genova. After the hike I felt like a beast! That night we went over to the Debelak's and ate with Natalie and the boys. Then I stayed and watched a movie with Natalie, it was good to just relax after such a strenuous day! :)
Sunday was spent mostly at the Baptist church. I learned how to make a wonderful pasta dish with a creamy mushroom sauce that I will try to make when I return home. In the afternoon we played with some karaoke for a while. There was a team fellowship time at the Kroeker house at night. We had good time of singing, playing a game, watching the USA and Brasil hash it out in soccer (Brasil won!!!!!).
Today I spent the morning cleaning the apartment and then went to lunch with Dustin. This afternoon was filled with a meeting about strategic planning. We also got to hear an update from Andrew and Dustin on their trip to Prague.
I find myself not wanting to leave more and more as the trip is coming close to an end.
Praise God! I remembered about a college fund that has been tucked away for a while so because of that, my payment that I was concerned about getting paid to Moody should be taken care of! Thank You Lord!
Thanks for your prayers. Pray that there will be significant conversations this week and that God does things in the hearts of those we are ministering to. Also pray for my attitude and focus to be right. Thank you for your involvement in my life and in what God is doing! Praise be to Him!
Sunday was spent mostly at the Baptist church. I learned how to make a wonderful pasta dish with a creamy mushroom sauce that I will try to make when I return home. In the afternoon we played with some karaoke for a while. There was a team fellowship time at the Kroeker house at night. We had good time of singing, playing a game, watching the USA and Brasil hash it out in soccer (Brasil won!!!!!).
Today I spent the morning cleaning the apartment and then went to lunch with Dustin. This afternoon was filled with a meeting about strategic planning. We also got to hear an update from Andrew and Dustin on their trip to Prague.
I find myself not wanting to leave more and more as the trip is coming close to an end.
Praise God! I remembered about a college fund that has been tucked away for a while so because of that, my payment that I was concerned about getting paid to Moody should be taken care of! Thank You Lord!
Thanks for your prayers. Pray that there will be significant conversations this week and that God does things in the hearts of those we are ministering to. Also pray for my attitude and focus to be right. Thank you for your involvement in my life and in what God is doing! Praise be to Him!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Lord Be Glorified
After the last post on Wednesday night, Dustin and I met up with the same guy who was doing tango the night before. But this time, we actually got to watch him tango! What an experience! He was very good, well, I thought so and I have never seen tango before... At one point Dustin got up to get a drink, I was fine sitting there by myself, but then it occurred to me that some man might come ask me to tango too, and I would not know how to refuse, plus, I actually did not see any girls reject any of the tango guys! So I decided I should probably go with Dustin to save myself from sheer embarrassment out on the tango floor!! haha :)
Yesterday I slept in until about 11 in the morning. Was so nice to not have to be anywhere until 3 in the afternoon! I cleaned the apartment, did some laundry, took care of some emails, etc.
Yesterday I slept in until about 11 in the morning. Was so nice to not have to be anywhere until 3 in the afternoon! I cleaned the apartment, did some laundry, took care of some emails, etc.
I went down to the Kroeker's for Katja's birthday party around 3. We had a great time celebrating with yummy chocolate cake and gelato. Then we played a game, it was nice to laugh with the ladies and Katja.
The birthday girl Katja!!
The Kroeker and Debelak kids at Katja's party.
Janae and I left around 5 to meet up with Gabriela. We were walking around looking for some food and we bumped into some of Dustin's friends from the going away party I went with him to last weekend. I talked to them for a bit and was sad to realize that they are leaving for home (Holland) on Saturday... so I probably will never see them again.Us girls got some food, then we walked down Via XX Septembre, the shopping street! We went into some big fancy stores, like the ones in Chicago, and we had fun trying on all the high heeled shoes! We ran into another girl from our Italian class while we were in one of the stores!
Then we went to Francesco's (Italian pastor) Bible study at his house. Praise God we found it because none of us knew how to get there, but it was really easy to find. Francesco made us dinner, his wife Claudia lead some worship, which was really fun because most of the songs were easy enough since I knew them in English too, and they had the Italian words written out, so singing in Italian is really not that hard! :)
The Bible study was good, Francesco started teaching from James 2:14-26 about faith without works. He asked us what the difference is between believing and having faith. The answers were pretty interesting. The whole time we were there little English was spoken. Gabriela, Francesco, Claudia and her mother all spoke mostly Spanish, so I was able to follow some of what was happening. Janae, a man named Michael and I sat and listened as much as we could. I asked Michael a few times if he understood what was being said because he only speaks Italian... Gabriela asked many, many questions and Francesco and Claudia were ready with answers and scriptures to back up their answers. I followed as best as I could in my English Bible to try to understand what they were talking about. At one point I realized that the verses they had just lead her through were the Romans Road verses and then at one point I heard Francesco say something about Nicodemus and how he questioned how he could be born again after he had already be born of his mother's womb, at that point I looked at Janae with excitement and told her what I just heard!
Before we knew it, Francesco was praying, then Gabriela prayed, then she told us in English that she had just received Jesus and was now born again! WOW! As Francesco closed the night in prayer, I could not help but to think, "This is how it should be!" Janae and I had nothing to do with Gabriela receiving Christ. We just went with her to the Bible study, God used Francesco and Claudia to share the Good News with her. As Janae and I talked about it after we left, the more excited I became. We don't have many more days here to pour into Gabriela, but she has this connection with Francesco and Claudia now, so they can continue on with her after we leave. Also, because we aren't the ones who shared the Gospel with her, she does not have that dependence on us. And, this was probably encouraging to Francesco and Claudia who are missionaries as well. I am sure they were happy to see a young girl receive Jesus.
Gabriela and Claudia
Our night ended after taking Gabriela home, seeing her mom, talking for a bit, then back on the bus with Francesco and Claudia. What a fun time. It was quite interesting after we left Gabriela because she was our translator, but after she was home, we could only speak Italian or Spanish and wow, we just said simple things I guess!
Today is a slow day. We were going to go out and see this beautiful place we've been told about, but the weather has been kinda dull since yesterday, so Janae and I really slept in. I was able to speak to one of my good friends who is doing her internship in Japan right now, and that was very encouraging.
Anyway, thanks for your prayers. God is doing amazing things here! Continue to pray for my financial situation back home... I have been given a little grace with the payment deadline, but the money is still needed! :) Glory to God for always working things out!
Today is a slow day. We were going to go out and see this beautiful place we've been told about, but the weather has been kinda dull since yesterday, so Janae and I really slept in. I was able to speak to one of my good friends who is doing her internship in Japan right now, and that was very encouraging.
Anyway, thanks for your prayers. God is doing amazing things here! Continue to pray for my financial situation back home... I have been given a little grace with the payment deadline, but the money is still needed! :) Glory to God for always working things out!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
How Can It Be?
For some reason it is already Wednesday!
This week has been fun so far. I have been learning a lot and most of it has been about communicating with people on the team and how I need to be sensitive to others, as well as be willing to step aside from the situation and look at things from other people's perspective. Kinda tough lessons, but thankfully, there have been some good long talks with people about these things to work stuff out.
Monday was full of meetings and we learned more about what Avant is doing over here. I hope by the time I leave to have a good grasp on what they are doing so that I can clearly communicate it all to my friends and family back home.
Tuesday was our day off. I did not see Janae until about 1 or 2 in the morning after we had done our own things! :)
I slept in and then worked on my quilt (yes, I brought my quilt to Italy... just in case I had a chance to chill and work on it). I watched part of a movie, did some laundry and just chilled in the morning. Then around lunch time, I realized that with the little food we do have in our apartment, it was not going to be fun to cook for myself, and Dustin and I were planning on hanging out at some point anyways, so we just went to lunch. I had some french fries, first time since the airport in Chicago on our way to Italy that I had had fries. They weren't American french fries at all, but wow, they were amazing!
I hung out with Dustin all afternoon. Played some Wii, cleaned the coffee maker, went to the store to buy sugar for Jacob's Well, brushed up on the Italian with our pal Francesco, and caught up with the world on Facebook.
Then I got to tag along with Dustin, Andrew and Natalie to one of their weekly events with Italians who speak English. We had some refreshments and light snacks and good conversation. This time that we had is very typical for Italians, it happens everyday about 6 pm until whenever. They go out for drinks and light snacks and then go home for dinner. Very interesting! I met some amazing people.
So after that we were suppose to go watch a friend do some Tango, but we missed his dance, but Dustin and I sat in on some of the other acts... which was rather interesting! I could not believe I was sitting in an opera house in Italy watching ballet and other dancing I have no clue what it is!
Then we met up with Andrew and Natalie again as well as one of the ladies from the previous time with light snacks. We went to another restaurant and talked with her for a very long time. She had some insightful things for us to learn about the culture.
We all took a cab back and Janae had been watching the Debelak boys, so she joined me in the cab once we got to the Debelak's. After we caught up on each other's days, I did my journaling, and took care of all the other things to end the day, I fell into bed around 3:30 am!
Today we had a meeting with team leader Tim at 10:30. So we stumbled down to Jacob's Well and heard more about the team dynamics and about Tim's story of how he got to be a missionary!
For lunch we were at Tim and Amee's. She made the most amazing dish I've had yet in Italy. I don't know the name of it, but it has raw eggs and bacon in the sauce over pasta. AMAZING! So now I can say that I have had raw eggs and bacon and I do not feel sick and I am not worried about getting sick. It was incredibly delicious! :)
After lunch was the team meeting. That went well, just talked more about all we went over in our meetings on Monday with Tim, Andrew and Dustin. We also spent some time in prayer for each other. The big thing this week is that Andrew and Dustin are going to Prague tomorrow until Sunday. So life will be different without them here! I plan to hang out with our friend Gabriela some tomorrow, enjoy a birthday with Katja Kroeker tomorrow, and sometime this week talk more with Amee and Natalie about their stories and how they got to the mission field and what God has done in their lives.
Again I find myself not too excited to leave. I really love this place.
I received an email last week about my Moody school bill for the fall semester. Even though I have received a much needed scholarship, there is still a good amount that I need to pay for, but honestly do not know where the money will come from because I do not have a solid job lined up for when I return to Chicago after Italy. If you could just be praying for all of those details, I would appreciate it. I am not worried, but I wanted my prayer warriors to be aware of a need. Thank you all for being so faithful in bringing things before God. I thank Him every time I think of you!
This week has been fun so far. I have been learning a lot and most of it has been about communicating with people on the team and how I need to be sensitive to others, as well as be willing to step aside from the situation and look at things from other people's perspective. Kinda tough lessons, but thankfully, there have been some good long talks with people about these things to work stuff out.
Monday was full of meetings and we learned more about what Avant is doing over here. I hope by the time I leave to have a good grasp on what they are doing so that I can clearly communicate it all to my friends and family back home.
Tuesday was our day off. I did not see Janae until about 1 or 2 in the morning after we had done our own things! :)
I slept in and then worked on my quilt (yes, I brought my quilt to Italy... just in case I had a chance to chill and work on it). I watched part of a movie, did some laundry and just chilled in the morning. Then around lunch time, I realized that with the little food we do have in our apartment, it was not going to be fun to cook for myself, and Dustin and I were planning on hanging out at some point anyways, so we just went to lunch. I had some french fries, first time since the airport in Chicago on our way to Italy that I had had fries. They weren't American french fries at all, but wow, they were amazing!
I hung out with Dustin all afternoon. Played some Wii, cleaned the coffee maker, went to the store to buy sugar for Jacob's Well, brushed up on the Italian with our pal Francesco, and caught up with the world on Facebook.
Then I got to tag along with Dustin, Andrew and Natalie to one of their weekly events with Italians who speak English. We had some refreshments and light snacks and good conversation. This time that we had is very typical for Italians, it happens everyday about 6 pm until whenever. They go out for drinks and light snacks and then go home for dinner. Very interesting! I met some amazing people.
So after that we were suppose to go watch a friend do some Tango, but we missed his dance, but Dustin and I sat in on some of the other acts... which was rather interesting! I could not believe I was sitting in an opera house in Italy watching ballet and other dancing I have no clue what it is!
Then we met up with Andrew and Natalie again as well as one of the ladies from the previous time with light snacks. We went to another restaurant and talked with her for a very long time. She had some insightful things for us to learn about the culture.
We all took a cab back and Janae had been watching the Debelak boys, so she joined me in the cab once we got to the Debelak's. After we caught up on each other's days, I did my journaling, and took care of all the other things to end the day, I fell into bed around 3:30 am!
Today we had a meeting with team leader Tim at 10:30. So we stumbled down to Jacob's Well and heard more about the team dynamics and about Tim's story of how he got to be a missionary!
For lunch we were at Tim and Amee's. She made the most amazing dish I've had yet in Italy. I don't know the name of it, but it has raw eggs and bacon in the sauce over pasta. AMAZING! So now I can say that I have had raw eggs and bacon and I do not feel sick and I am not worried about getting sick. It was incredibly delicious! :)
After lunch was the team meeting. That went well, just talked more about all we went over in our meetings on Monday with Tim, Andrew and Dustin. We also spent some time in prayer for each other. The big thing this week is that Andrew and Dustin are going to Prague tomorrow until Sunday. So life will be different without them here! I plan to hang out with our friend Gabriela some tomorrow, enjoy a birthday with Katja Kroeker tomorrow, and sometime this week talk more with Amee and Natalie about their stories and how they got to the mission field and what God has done in their lives.
Again I find myself not too excited to leave. I really love this place.
I received an email last week about my Moody school bill for the fall semester. Even though I have received a much needed scholarship, there is still a good amount that I need to pay for, but honestly do not know where the money will come from because I do not have a solid job lined up for when I return to Chicago after Italy. If you could just be praying for all of those details, I would appreciate it. I am not worried, but I wanted my prayer warriors to be aware of a need. Thank you all for being so faithful in bringing things before God. I thank Him every time I think of you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
