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!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Weekend Sadness
This weekend we went to the beach, like I swam for a bit in the Mediterranean Sea! I got a nice tan, and had good conversation. It was quite a nice, relaxing day!
After the beach and about 4 coffees, Janae, Dustin, and I went to the Debelak's for dinner. We had a great time over there because their little boys were saying the silliest things! We played a bunch of games and then around 10:30 we left. As Janae went back to the apartment, Dustin and I went to a party for one of his friends. It was a very interesting experience to be around more people from Europe, but pretty much no Italians. So I was able to understand the conversations, and it was nice to meet some more people that are in a totally different social circle here in Genova. Dustin was able to have a wonderful conversation about Jesus being the only way to get to Heaven with a friend. Praise God for that! Just pray that there are more times when that friend will desire to discuss things further.
Today we went to church at the Baptist church again. After church we hung out with the same group of people again for coffee and then lunch at the port.
I haven't felt the greatest all day and I think maybe I am dehydrated or something. Or tired... So after eating and talking with people for a while, I left to go back to the apartment. I went to Jacob's Well with Dustin and emailed my dad a Happy Father's Day!!! Once back at the apartment, I did some dishes and then took a little nap. It felt good to be resting for a bit!
Then I went down to the Kroeker's house for team fellowship time. We all shared about a quality of our dad's we appreciate, I said that my dad has always told me that everything happens for a reason. I think of that everyday and every time I find myself in a difficult situation. What good words of wisdom!
We then played some games and talked with the Kroekers for a while. Janae, Dustin & I played with Kaleb and Jeremy Kroeker for a while, that was really fun! I decided I miss the little boy I babysit. What a fun day! Now we are back to sleep and rest for the week ahead.
So the title of this blog is 'weekend sadness' mostly because we leave so soon. The time is flying by so fast. I am falling more and more in love with this place and the people here and the ministry happening that I really do not want to leave! Like I think I will probably really have a hard time leaving, they might have to hand-cuff me to get me to the airport!
Thanks for your prayers. Please pray for energy tomorrow. Pray that what ever is getting me physically worn out would pass! Thanks for your prayers for Natalie Debelak, please pray for her more about her sickness that she would be all healed and rested up. This Thursday, Andrew and Dustin are going to Prague to visit the Avant team there and offer encouragement and insight to what they are doing. Pray for Natalie and her boys while Andrew is gone and for Andrew and Dustin as they travel.
After the beach and about 4 coffees, Janae, Dustin, and I went to the Debelak's for dinner. We had a great time over there because their little boys were saying the silliest things! We played a bunch of games and then around 10:30 we left. As Janae went back to the apartment, Dustin and I went to a party for one of his friends. It was a very interesting experience to be around more people from Europe, but pretty much no Italians. So I was able to understand the conversations, and it was nice to meet some more people that are in a totally different social circle here in Genova. Dustin was able to have a wonderful conversation about Jesus being the only way to get to Heaven with a friend. Praise God for that! Just pray that there are more times when that friend will desire to discuss things further.
Today we went to church at the Baptist church again. After church we hung out with the same group of people again for coffee and then lunch at the port.
I haven't felt the greatest all day and I think maybe I am dehydrated or something. Or tired... So after eating and talking with people for a while, I left to go back to the apartment. I went to Jacob's Well with Dustin and emailed my dad a Happy Father's Day!!! Once back at the apartment, I did some dishes and then took a little nap. It felt good to be resting for a bit!
Then I went down to the Kroeker's house for team fellowship time. We all shared about a quality of our dad's we appreciate, I said that my dad has always told me that everything happens for a reason. I think of that everyday and every time I find myself in a difficult situation. What good words of wisdom!
We then played some games and talked with the Kroekers for a while. Janae, Dustin & I played with Kaleb and Jeremy Kroeker for a while, that was really fun! I decided I miss the little boy I babysit. What a fun day! Now we are back to sleep and rest for the week ahead.
So the title of this blog is 'weekend sadness' mostly because we leave so soon. The time is flying by so fast. I am falling more and more in love with this place and the people here and the ministry happening that I really do not want to leave! Like I think I will probably really have a hard time leaving, they might have to hand-cuff me to get me to the airport!
Thanks for your prayers. Please pray for energy tomorrow. Pray that what ever is getting me physically worn out would pass! Thanks for your prayers for Natalie Debelak, please pray for her more about her sickness that she would be all healed and rested up. This Thursday, Andrew and Dustin are going to Prague to visit the Avant team there and offer encouragement and insight to what they are doing. Pray for Natalie and her boys while Andrew is gone and for Andrew and Dustin as they travel.
Friday, June 19, 2009
What should I do?
So the last few days have been full of information and last night I found myself overwhelmed by all the information that I was trying to process. We went to the team meeting on Wednesday, and then we had some more meetings on Thursday with Andrew and Dustin. I have been able to ask some more questions about Avant, the team, and then some of the team member's personal testimonies/difficulties/experiences so far. It has been great. The conclusions that I wrote in my journal last night are these four things:
But then today came. Yeah. Today. Wooohoo.
I guess today was the test after a day of wonderful, amazing things! I had one thing in my head I wanted to do and was most excited about, but we didn't get to do it at all. I did hear great things from Natalie Debelak about being a missionary, resolving conflict, being a mom on the field, etc. The thing she kept telling Janae & I was that she has constantly had to say "I choose to be happy about this, even though it is not what I was told was going to happen" Yeah, that was good to hear! Like really good to hear.
As soon as we left her house, we missed our train, got on a bus, waited, waited, waited, finally the driver said (we think) something about a flat tire and that that bus would not be going, so we got on another bus, but that one would be sitting for a while because the drivers just decide to take smoking breaks for however long they want... so we decided to try the train again, so we RAN back to the train station... made it on the train, made it to Jacob's Well, and missed our meeting with the Avant guys about more team stuff that I am so curious about! Yay! :( That made me sad.
Gabriela was waiting for us and we went from there to the aquarium. We were there for a really long time. Was pretty neat, but I have a hard time in those places, so most of my time was spent trying to keep a positive attitude.
We went to dinner and then to a birthday party for the french lady who had been in our Italian class. That was fun. On our way back, my phone locked up while I was texting Dustin about beach plans for tomorrow and I was left with no way to contact anyone. Then we had to wait for the bus again and I began to evaluate my day. This is what I have come up with:
We are finishing up our 3rd week out of 6 in Italy, not sure where the time has gone! I think I could live here like this forever, not really sure I want to go back to Chicago to finish school!! :) And yes, I say that despite all the sarcasm above and the difficulties of the transportation in this city!
- I know God wants me in missions, that is pretty clear!
- It is becoming more and more clear through conversations with the team members that Avant is the organization I want to be with as a missionary.
- I don't know how I would do this as a single woman, so I guess I have seen the need to get married... hmmm.
- I don't want to leave Italy in 3 weeks! And since I felt God's call on my life to be a missionary, I have been against the idea of any sort of missions work in Europe, but now that I am here, and have met others from Europe, I am realizing the need for non-traditional reproducing churches. I want to be a part of that!
But then today came. Yeah. Today. Wooohoo.
I guess today was the test after a day of wonderful, amazing things! I had one thing in my head I wanted to do and was most excited about, but we didn't get to do it at all. I did hear great things from Natalie Debelak about being a missionary, resolving conflict, being a mom on the field, etc. The thing she kept telling Janae & I was that she has constantly had to say "I choose to be happy about this, even though it is not what I was told was going to happen" Yeah, that was good to hear! Like really good to hear.
As soon as we left her house, we missed our train, got on a bus, waited, waited, waited, finally the driver said (we think) something about a flat tire and that that bus would not be going, so we got on another bus, but that one would be sitting for a while because the drivers just decide to take smoking breaks for however long they want... so we decided to try the train again, so we RAN back to the train station... made it on the train, made it to Jacob's Well, and missed our meeting with the Avant guys about more team stuff that I am so curious about! Yay! :( That made me sad.
Gabriela was waiting for us and we went from there to the aquarium. We were there for a really long time. Was pretty neat, but I have a hard time in those places, so most of my time was spent trying to keep a positive attitude.
We went to dinner and then to a birthday party for the french lady who had been in our Italian class. That was fun. On our way back, my phone locked up while I was texting Dustin about beach plans for tomorrow and I was left with no way to contact anyone. Then we had to wait for the bus again and I began to evaluate my day. This is what I have come up with:
- The verse that God has brought to mind constantly through my day is Habakkuk 2:3, which says: "These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair. Just be patient! It will not be overdue a single day!" If anyone doubts this verse, I'd love to tell you countless stories of how true this is! I am the most impatient person I know, but wow, God still has a plan that works out so much better than mine!
- I am getting frustrated so easily (on the inside!). Combination of events of the day, lack of sleep, and physically not feeling the greatest since I rolled out of bed. But as I sat there waiting to come home on the bus, I realized that normally I hang out with lots of guys, and the last few hours I had spent a significant amount of time with girls that are very different from me and I think I have started to miss my boys back in Chicago! I love the girls I've been with, but yeah, I think I miss my boys. :)
We are finishing up our 3rd week out of 6 in Italy, not sure where the time has gone! I think I could live here like this forever, not really sure I want to go back to Chicago to finish school!! :) And yes, I say that despite all the sarcasm above and the difficulties of the transportation in this city!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
My Heart Breaks
The beautiful view from our apartment! We saw fireworks out there on the coast from our apartment the other night, was quite fun! :)
Another view from our apartment, the baseball field! There are games, and it is fun to hear the sounds of cheering and baseball!
Laundry day again... not the best picture because there were ladies out on the balconies across from us, so I was trying to hide from them so they would not laugh at me for taking a picture of our clothes!Yesterday was our last day of Italian language class. I had mixed feelings as we left. Our numbers are exchanged with the girls we have made contact with there and hopefully we will hang out some with them soon! Gabriella really wants to hang out with us and maybe go to the aquarium. I hope we can!
After class we went over to Jacob's Well because we were suppose to meet up with Andrew and Dustin for a session on Short-Cycle Church Planting (insert little circle with R in the middle). But instead we went to lunch with Dustin and our friend Melissa (the one from Ireland who leaves today). We were there for a long time and then all of us went back to Jacob's Well so Melissa could print her tickets.
After the friends left, we decided to stick around at Jacob's Well because we were going back out with Melissa and friends later, and there would not be enough time to go back to the apartment. So while Janae went out exploring the historical parts of Genova, like Christopher Columbus's house... I played some Wii bowling with Dustin and made a Mii... my arm is a little sore today! haha
I felt kinda sick yesterday, so please be praying that I don't catch anything. I had some coffee before we went back out with Melissa and friends, and it worked exactly the opposite of giving me energy, I felt like I had hit a brick wall and all I wanted to do was sleep! Then we went to this pizza place that was more like a pizza oven, I felt very sick there, but the company was incredible. I sat amongst the Germans! I spoke mostly Italian the whole meal, which must have impressed a lot of people because they kept looking at me really shocked that I wasn't speaking English to them... hm, all I know is the simple words like, yes, no, i don't understand, i don't know, and I like it! Apparently that is enough to know to have conversation!
After pizza we went and got gelato! I am almost to the point of ordering on my own, but I can't handle large portions because it is so rich in sweetness factors! So our Filipino friend, Andrew, has ordered for me before, but he gets me like 1 kilo of gelato... which is so hard for me to finish, so this time I asked Dustin to help me because I knew Andrew would go overboard! haha, so I got some strawberry, which was amazing... does not even compare to American strawberry ice cream, this was WAY better!
So after we ate gelato, we went for a walk to feel better after stuffing our bodies so full of food. We walked down to the port and then went to a plaza area by where we got gelato to have drinks with Melissa and some others who are leaving today to go back to Ireland. I had the most wonderful talk with Melissa's dad on our way back from the port. I shared my testimony and kind of about growing up on a farm and how God changed our lives when my dad became a pastor. He told me about his sons and Melissa. It will be so different not having those two around! Again, it was marvelous to talk to someone in the same language!
We then had a dishcrew time where we crowded around about 3 small tables at a bar (ok, this is not an American bar, this is an Italian bar, meaning that it is a little restaurant that has little to no seating inside, but there is seating under umbrellas on the street). We probably had about 25 some people crammed out there! My heart began to break as I watched this new group of friends we joined slam down the beer and light up the cigarettes. I was still recovering from earlier in the day, from whatever my body was dealing with so I did not talk much, but I observed a lot. What I learned last night is two things, drinking here in Italy is completely different than drinking in the states, but it can still be abused to some degree.
The other thing I learned is that people all over Europe need the hope of a Savior. This became the clearest while talking to my friend Evangelina from Germany at dinner. She told me about life in Germany and all I wanted to do was learn more. She told me that if a person in Germany was to say they are a Christian, everyone would label that person as a weirdo and pretty much be an outcast. Being a Christian is not cool. The cool thing there is to drink alcohol in excess, drugs, and sex.
My prayer is that those of us who do have our hope secure in Christ will be a light of love to our friends who need Jesus. I am also convinced that the same problems exist all over the world, my challenge to those of you who actually read these extremely long posts is for you to look around you and pick out people you daily interact with and begin to develop a deeper caring relationship for those people, even if you just plant seeds of truth and show them love, God will use that! Oh if we want the world to change and hearts to come to Jesus, we must be doing something! Everyone has a part to play, it is not only for 'missionaries' living outside of the U.S.!
Alas, as the hours continued ticking away last night, it came time to leave before our bus would stop running. Dustin walked Janae & I to the bus and we came back to the apartment we had left over 12 hours before! I crawled into bed with a broken/torn heart around 2 am, and now at 8:00 am, I am up again because of not being able to sleep. At least we do not have school today! :)
We meet in a few hours with the team and that should be fun. Please continue to pray for the Debelak's health. Thank you for actually reading these LONG posts.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The 15th Already!
Wow, the time is flying now. Like really flying!
This weekend was very chill. Saturday Janae and I went to Jacob's Well for a while, then we napped all afternoon. I think I posted that day... so Sunday is the day we did stuff!
Yesterday we went to the same Baptist church as last week. There as a wedding as part of the church service this week! It was really neat! I was talking with an Italian guy who was visiting the church for the first time and I asked him if this was typical for Italian weddings, and he gave me a strong no! It was his first time to be in a different 'church' than the Catholic Mass and he said that the service was much more interesting than Catholic Mass. I was amazed that he was so willing to share his honest thoughts! I could tell that he was really interested in this thing all us called 'church' and why it was so different than the 'religious' ceremonies he knew until yesterday. I wonder if he will come back next Sunday...
After the service, we were convinced by all the elderly women to come to the reception in the basement of the church! So here we were, Americans at a wedding reception for people we had never met! How wild! No one seemed to mind, and they kept pushing us back to get more food and made sure we were completely content.
After the reception we hung out with the young group (college age people, singles, etc). One of the girls, Melissa, is from Ireland and she is leaving Wednesday to go home. She had been in Genova to study at the university here. She is a Christian and when she came to Genova she wanted to go to an Evangelical church, so she found this one. Everyone loves Melissa! She is a joy, for sure and I am sad to see her go and we only met her on Friday! Her dad has been here too, so it has been nice to talk the same language with people, even if there is a strong Irish accent! :)
There were 7 of us that went out on the Navebus, a boat used for transportation in Genova. We took it to the other side of the city and then took a train to a beach. I had not brought my swimwear, so I decided to roll up my sleeves and soak up some sun while everyone, minus Chandra (the Indian guy) and I, played in the water. It was wonderful! I also got a little tan! Which is fun... since last summer I was stuck in-doors the whole time! And don't worry, I didn't get enough to cause a painful burn, just enough to bronze my skin a bit... haha.
One of the guys, Jonny, got stung by a jelly fish, but don't worry, Chandra is a doctor and promised that Jonny would not die and he would be ok!
After the beach, Melissa was texted by Dustin (guy from our team), he wanted to know if anyone was up for Indian food. So we took the train back Genova and waited around for Melissa's dad to join us. We then made it to the Indian restaurant, where Dustin and friends were. I got an amazing dish, and Chandra told us that the food was pretty close to authentic, but he did not like it too much.... I thought it was amazing though... but then again I am not Indian and I have only had one other Indian dish before... lol
I had a great conversation about dishcrew with Dustin after his friends all left and he stuck around with our group. It was nice to talk in our own language... sorry for everyone who does not understand, but dishcrew at Moody is very tight and even though we never worked together, we still know all the lingo and it was a refreshing thing for me to talk with someone about the people and job I love back at school. :)
We left our apartment yesterday around 9:00 am, we returned after 11:30 pm!! What a long day packed full of fun! So all that to say, we made it to bed after 1:00 am... we have a lady staying with us and she arrived last night while we were still out, so when we got back time was spent getting her situated, visiting, and journaling!
Today we went to school, tomorrow is our last day. I have mixed feelings about that! I wish I could learn the language faster, but it is quite draining on me and Janae to be in class for so long and not really know how we will practically use this after we leave in a few weeks. :( But the relationships we are building are incredible.
Today there were 4 new students in our class. A french couple, a lady from Sweden, and a girl from Budapest. All 4 of them speak loads more Italian than the rest of us, so Janae and I sat there with tired, blank stares for most of the 4 hours! Gabriella even talked less today! But we asked her to join us for lunch after class, she was so excited to do things with us! The lady from Sweden came along too. We had quite an incredible lunch, I got a chicken salad (isalata di pollo) and the others got a rice with mushrooms dish (sorry don't know what it's called in Italian!). We also just enjoyed talking with both Jenny and Gabriella.
After we ate we went over to Jacob's Well so they could know where to look for us if they wanted to hang out again after school some day since our last day is tomorrow. Gabriella hung around for a long time. She and her mom may start coming to Bible studies with the Italian pastor and the group that meets every Thursday in his home. We also got to meet him and his wife today. Sweet people! His wife speaks Spanish as well as Italian, so once again I found myself combining both Italian and Spanish to make conversation with her. At one point I did not understand at all, and so she went to Dustin for help, but he got confused too, so I'm not really sure what she was trying to say to me... hopefully the communication thing gets better! :)
This evening we are relaxing and I just got off skype with Heidi for a long time. I was so energized by speaking with her! It was good to hear her voice, as well as my dad and brothers for a little bit! Praise God for that. Thank you everyone for caring enough to read these long posts and to keep praying, God is doing things in Italy. My heart is breaking for the thousands of people here who only have a negative view of God, to them He is only a judge who does not like sin, He is not a God of love! Pray that Italians will learn of the love of Jesus and how much God desires to have a relationship with people.
Another prayer request is for Andrew and Natalie Debelak, they have been sick since their return from the states about a week and a half ago. They really are having a hard time getting better. Tonight Dustin is babysitting their two young boys so that Andrew and Natalie can go to the doctor. Pray that they will get answers and for healing so that their ministry can continue.
Love to all! Thanks again for all you are doing to be a part of this, God IS doing BIG things!
Think about and pray these verses for the Avant team in Italy:
You therefore my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
2Timothy 2:1-2
This weekend was very chill. Saturday Janae and I went to Jacob's Well for a while, then we napped all afternoon. I think I posted that day... so Sunday is the day we did stuff!
Yesterday we went to the same Baptist church as last week. There as a wedding as part of the church service this week! It was really neat! I was talking with an Italian guy who was visiting the church for the first time and I asked him if this was typical for Italian weddings, and he gave me a strong no! It was his first time to be in a different 'church' than the Catholic Mass and he said that the service was much more interesting than Catholic Mass. I was amazed that he was so willing to share his honest thoughts! I could tell that he was really interested in this thing all us called 'church' and why it was so different than the 'religious' ceremonies he knew until yesterday. I wonder if he will come back next Sunday...
After the service, we were convinced by all the elderly women to come to the reception in the basement of the church! So here we were, Americans at a wedding reception for people we had never met! How wild! No one seemed to mind, and they kept pushing us back to get more food and made sure we were completely content.
After the reception we hung out with the young group (college age people, singles, etc). One of the girls, Melissa, is from Ireland and she is leaving Wednesday to go home. She had been in Genova to study at the university here. She is a Christian and when she came to Genova she wanted to go to an Evangelical church, so she found this one. Everyone loves Melissa! She is a joy, for sure and I am sad to see her go and we only met her on Friday! Her dad has been here too, so it has been nice to talk the same language with people, even if there is a strong Irish accent! :)
There were 7 of us that went out on the Navebus, a boat used for transportation in Genova. We took it to the other side of the city and then took a train to a beach. I had not brought my swimwear, so I decided to roll up my sleeves and soak up some sun while everyone, minus Chandra (the Indian guy) and I, played in the water. It was wonderful! I also got a little tan! Which is fun... since last summer I was stuck in-doors the whole time! And don't worry, I didn't get enough to cause a painful burn, just enough to bronze my skin a bit... haha.
One of the guys, Jonny, got stung by a jelly fish, but don't worry, Chandra is a doctor and promised that Jonny would not die and he would be ok!
After the beach, Melissa was texted by Dustin (guy from our team), he wanted to know if anyone was up for Indian food. So we took the train back Genova and waited around for Melissa's dad to join us. We then made it to the Indian restaurant, where Dustin and friends were. I got an amazing dish, and Chandra told us that the food was pretty close to authentic, but he did not like it too much.... I thought it was amazing though... but then again I am not Indian and I have only had one other Indian dish before... lol
I had a great conversation about dishcrew with Dustin after his friends all left and he stuck around with our group. It was nice to talk in our own language... sorry for everyone who does not understand, but dishcrew at Moody is very tight and even though we never worked together, we still know all the lingo and it was a refreshing thing for me to talk with someone about the people and job I love back at school. :)
We left our apartment yesterday around 9:00 am, we returned after 11:30 pm!! What a long day packed full of fun! So all that to say, we made it to bed after 1:00 am... we have a lady staying with us and she arrived last night while we were still out, so when we got back time was spent getting her situated, visiting, and journaling!
Today we went to school, tomorrow is our last day. I have mixed feelings about that! I wish I could learn the language faster, but it is quite draining on me and Janae to be in class for so long and not really know how we will practically use this after we leave in a few weeks. :( But the relationships we are building are incredible.
Today there were 4 new students in our class. A french couple, a lady from Sweden, and a girl from Budapest. All 4 of them speak loads more Italian than the rest of us, so Janae and I sat there with tired, blank stares for most of the 4 hours! Gabriella even talked less today! But we asked her to join us for lunch after class, she was so excited to do things with us! The lady from Sweden came along too. We had quite an incredible lunch, I got a chicken salad (isalata di pollo) and the others got a rice with mushrooms dish (sorry don't know what it's called in Italian!). We also just enjoyed talking with both Jenny and Gabriella.
After we ate we went over to Jacob's Well so they could know where to look for us if they wanted to hang out again after school some day since our last day is tomorrow. Gabriella hung around for a long time. She and her mom may start coming to Bible studies with the Italian pastor and the group that meets every Thursday in his home. We also got to meet him and his wife today. Sweet people! His wife speaks Spanish as well as Italian, so once again I found myself combining both Italian and Spanish to make conversation with her. At one point I did not understand at all, and so she went to Dustin for help, but he got confused too, so I'm not really sure what she was trying to say to me... hopefully the communication thing gets better! :)
This evening we are relaxing and I just got off skype with Heidi for a long time. I was so energized by speaking with her! It was good to hear her voice, as well as my dad and brothers for a little bit! Praise God for that. Thank you everyone for caring enough to read these long posts and to keep praying, God is doing things in Italy. My heart is breaking for the thousands of people here who only have a negative view of God, to them He is only a judge who does not like sin, He is not a God of love! Pray that Italians will learn of the love of Jesus and how much God desires to have a relationship with people.
Another prayer request is for Andrew and Natalie Debelak, they have been sick since their return from the states about a week and a half ago. They really are having a hard time getting better. Tonight Dustin is babysitting their two young boys so that Andrew and Natalie can go to the doctor. Pray that they will get answers and for healing so that their ministry can continue.
Love to all! Thanks again for all you are doing to be a part of this, God IS doing BIG things!
Think about and pray these verses for the Avant team in Italy:
You therefore my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
2Timothy 2:1-2
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Update for the Week
So we have met the last few days for a short time with Andrew & Dustin (basically our supervisors I guess?). They have been explaining more about the ministry and we are expected to do the next couple of weeks. I will try to highlight some of the general info for you guys, but most of it is pretty deep and I am trying to process it all and I have to be careful what I put on here for security reasons (don't worry though, these are not safety issues, we are more safe here than in Chicago!). Anyway, the internship is broken into 3 focus areas: cultural immersion, living in a lost world, and Short-Cycle Church Planting(insert the circle with little R in the middle). The cultural immersion part is pretty much done because a lot of those things were completed while we were on our own for the first like week and a half.
The next step is to learn more about the last two focus areas. We will be involved in some social networks and at the end of our time we will need to present to Team Italy One what our plan would be for these groups of people if we were to be on the field for the remaining 40 months. We have already begun this social network and research. I cannot say more for security reasons, I will be happy to tell you in email or in person when I return. Let me know if you are interested in more info!
We will also get the chance to meet a few times with each member of Team Italy One and learn about their own personal experiences and hopefully answer some of our own questions concerning being missionaries, living overseas with a family, planting a church, etc. So we are going to be having meals a few times a week with the different members of the team, maybe even one on one, like Janae with the Debelaks (Andrew & Natalie) one night and me with the Kroekers (Tim & Amee), simply so that we can both ask our questions and so they can get to know us better too. I think though that Dustin will have both of us girls... haha!
So today is 'our day off' as Andrew put it yesterday. We are down at Jacob's Well right now (the ministry center) because some guys came to fix the tile and the team asked us if we could just come down and open it up and let the workers in. Our Italian is really improving!
Last night we hung out with the same group of people from the church we went to last Sunday. There are so many internationals there! We really enjoyed the time of food, fellowship and fun! I got to talk to some really neat ladies! One of the gals is from Spain, she is the oldest of 5, (3 girls and 2 boys) just like my family and her dad is a pastor as well! And since I speak some Spanish, we really hit it off! Although, I did go to bed with Spanish and Italian phrases mixing in my head. Not sure how helpful that was for me! I find myself wanting to speak Spanish when I talk to someone who only speaks Italian and speaking Italian when I actually get to speak Spanish to someone! My poor brain is really confused!
Anyway, thanks for your prayers. This week has been rough for me spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and even physically. I am still confident that God is going to do and is doing something big here though and it thrills me beyond explanation that Janae and I get to be a part of what He is doing! Praise Him!
Have a great weekend! Please email or Skye, I'd love to hear from you!
The next step is to learn more about the last two focus areas. We will be involved in some social networks and at the end of our time we will need to present to Team Italy One what our plan would be for these groups of people if we were to be on the field for the remaining 40 months. We have already begun this social network and research. I cannot say more for security reasons, I will be happy to tell you in email or in person when I return. Let me know if you are interested in more info!
We will also get the chance to meet a few times with each member of Team Italy One and learn about their own personal experiences and hopefully answer some of our own questions concerning being missionaries, living overseas with a family, planting a church, etc. So we are going to be having meals a few times a week with the different members of the team, maybe even one on one, like Janae with the Debelaks (Andrew & Natalie) one night and me with the Kroekers (Tim & Amee), simply so that we can both ask our questions and so they can get to know us better too. I think though that Dustin will have both of us girls... haha!
So today is 'our day off' as Andrew put it yesterday. We are down at Jacob's Well right now (the ministry center) because some guys came to fix the tile and the team asked us if we could just come down and open it up and let the workers in. Our Italian is really improving!
Last night we hung out with the same group of people from the church we went to last Sunday. There are so many internationals there! We really enjoyed the time of food, fellowship and fun! I got to talk to some really neat ladies! One of the gals is from Spain, she is the oldest of 5, (3 girls and 2 boys) just like my family and her dad is a pastor as well! And since I speak some Spanish, we really hit it off! Although, I did go to bed with Spanish and Italian phrases mixing in my head. Not sure how helpful that was for me! I find myself wanting to speak Spanish when I talk to someone who only speaks Italian and speaking Italian when I actually get to speak Spanish to someone! My poor brain is really confused!
Anyway, thanks for your prayers. This week has been rough for me spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and even physically. I am still confident that God is going to do and is doing something big here though and it thrills me beyond explanation that Janae and I get to be a part of what He is doing! Praise Him!
Have a great weekend! Please email or Skye, I'd love to hear from you!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Meeting the Team
Yesterday we met the team for the first time. Well, part of them I guess. Some of the team is away for the summer, and others have moved on, so yesterday we only met with two of the couples. The only single left, Dustin, was not able to make the meeting because of some sort of food poisoning and a hospital stay the day before, so we just had a small gathering which I think made Janae and I more comfortable! We presented our slide show of pictures from all that we explored and told the stories to go along with our first 10 days of living on our own in Italy. They laughed with us and told us some of their own stories of learning the Italian/Genova culture.
After our presentation they moved into their team meeting which was really interesting on my part to sit in on because I am so curious about what their church planting strategy looks like and what their different roles are as team members. It was interesting to watch them interact and bounce ideas back and forth and give wonderful constructive criticisim as well as highlight the strengths of certain individuals who would do a particular job better than anyone else on the team. Their open communication was incredible to watch because even though there may have been disagreement, there is the underlying agreement to work things out and a goal that they all have to reach. When they were done discussing, even though a solid conclusion was not made, they moved on, set it aside for a later meeting. That was interesting to be a part of. I look forward so much more to learning about their ministry and actually seeing it in action more than the kitchen in our apartment!
They also brought food and their children! For me it was wonderful to have people in this large place, noise, laughter, and just other people! They taught us how to eat Italian sandwiches and told us about real mozzorella cheese that comes in little pouches with milk that you drain off and then just cut the cheese ball up into slices or whatever. It is so tasty! I look forward to learning from the missionary ladies how to make real Italian food because our American minds think of Italian food as 'spaghetti' or 'pizza' which are Italian, but wow, there is so much food! I want to know how to make the stuff people actually eat here!
Ok, sorry this is long, thank you for your prayers. I will inform you all more about what the following weeks look like when I know, maybe tomorrow? Don't really know, just living one day at a time! One thing is nice though, we do have internet in the apartment now, as of last night. Wonderful!
After our presentation they moved into their team meeting which was really interesting on my part to sit in on because I am so curious about what their church planting strategy looks like and what their different roles are as team members. It was interesting to watch them interact and bounce ideas back and forth and give wonderful constructive criticisim as well as highlight the strengths of certain individuals who would do a particular job better than anyone else on the team. Their open communication was incredible to watch because even though there may have been disagreement, there is the underlying agreement to work things out and a goal that they all have to reach. When they were done discussing, even though a solid conclusion was not made, they moved on, set it aside for a later meeting. That was interesting to be a part of. I look forward so much more to learning about their ministry and actually seeing it in action more than the kitchen in our apartment!
They also brought food and their children! For me it was wonderful to have people in this large place, noise, laughter, and just other people! They taught us how to eat Italian sandwiches and told us about real mozzorella cheese that comes in little pouches with milk that you drain off and then just cut the cheese ball up into slices or whatever. It is so tasty! I look forward to learning from the missionary ladies how to make real Italian food because our American minds think of Italian food as 'spaghetti' or 'pizza' which are Italian, but wow, there is so much food! I want to know how to make the stuff people actually eat here!
Ok, sorry this is long, thank you for your prayers. I will inform you all more about what the following weeks look like when I know, maybe tomorrow? Don't really know, just living one day at a time! One thing is nice though, we do have internet in the apartment now, as of last night. Wonderful!
The following pictures are specifically for Kelsey (these missionaries do aparently keep up with style!! haha), Kira, and Brittney because my room makes me think of you girls everytime I'm in it! :)
This is a picture of my room while in Italy! Two girls normally live in this room, I unfortunately have not and will not get to meet them, but they sure are sweet to let me stay in their room! I have actually never lived in a room that is decorated as nice as this! I feel quite honored to live in such a beautiful place, certainly did not expect such treatment! Everything matches, literally, everything! I think I know everything that matches and then I'll find something new, quite incredible! :)
The bed under the window is mine, even though I have this whole room to my self! wow!
The rest of the room.
The rest of the room.
My dresser (aka the other bed in the room).
The large couch and some of the terrific art work on the walls.
Ok, I forgot to edit this picture, so forgive me, but I had to include this, yes, I did bring this little guy with me... how could I not have something John Deere in a room of all girly colors? haha :)Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Some Events from the Weekend
Ciao! From Italy!
Yesterday we met with our friend Julie for lunch. We had a good time with her. It was nice to talk with someone who knows more Italian than we do and still speaks English too! I am looking forward to knowing her better. As well as a young girl, Gabrella, (from Brasil) who is in our Italian class. She just began class this Monday, and already Janae and I have noticed that our whole learning dynamic has changed since we have a 13 year old learning with us who fluently speaks portuguese, spanish, and english. I want to get to know her more, she seems like a very interesting person and that she may have had to grow up rather quickly.
Last night we prepared a presentation to give to the team today (End of phase 3!!!). They will be at our apartment around 4:45pm (Italy time). It will be nice to find out what is next and actually meet the team!
Today was very frustrating in class. I felt like I could not understand a single thing our teachers were saying and I don't know how to ask questions in Italian. I also felt a little bored and sick of sitting in a classroom! Pray for my attitude, I know that I am constantly being pushed out of everything I like, enjoy and all that I know is comfortable. Pray that the devil will not have a foothold in any of these areas that are difficult. I was reading in Ecclesiasties last night and the hope I cling to from those chapters is to delight in the Lord no matter what the circumstance is. On the way to school today I prayed, "Lord, if it is rough, if it is good, if it is wonderful, if it is terrible, let me constantly bless Your Name." Even in these moments of frustration, I must continue to bless His Name. Wow, that is so easy to type on here, but so hard to live out!
Along with attitude, please pray for clarity of mind. I find myself drifting off in day dreams often. Pray that this would stop and that I can focus on the task before me. The worst times are on the bus. I have been battling this mind drifting since about Saturday. As Bethany and I would say, "What is on the screen saver of your mind?" I know mine isn't good. Pray that the devil again would not use this to tempt me or to discourage me.
Pray that we get enough rest. :)
Also be in prayer for the people we do have contact wtih here. That hearts would be open to hearing the Good News and that we would know what to say so they understand.
Here are some pictures from this past weekend. I want to thank you all who are praying. Please let me know how you are doing and what I can be in prayer for you about. Miss you!
This is a gate to a castle! We walked along the outside wall on a beautiful road that made me think we were in the story of Pilgrim's Progress.
Don't you wish you could explore places like these with us? :)
This is what the other side of the wall looks like on the way to the castle!
The castle! But we could not go inside. Hopefully we'll find more to explore!
There are all sorts of plants in Genova. This is alfalfa! It was just growing on the side of the road!
On our way down from exploring the castle area, we came across this air show! (Mom, be sure to show Sam this picture please!)
This is one of the areas on the coast we saw on Saturday. The waves were huge! The blue railing in the left of the photo is how far most of the waves were. I tried to get a picture of it, but the picture doesn't do justice for what it actually was like!
This a wave, wish you could see it for real!
Ok, the plants never cease to amaze me here! This is a HUGE cactus on the coast! We have seen others, but this is the only picture I have taken!
Yesterday we met with our friend Julie for lunch. We had a good time with her. It was nice to talk with someone who knows more Italian than we do and still speaks English too! I am looking forward to knowing her better. As well as a young girl, Gabrella, (from Brasil) who is in our Italian class. She just began class this Monday, and already Janae and I have noticed that our whole learning dynamic has changed since we have a 13 year old learning with us who fluently speaks portuguese, spanish, and english. I want to get to know her more, she seems like a very interesting person and that she may have had to grow up rather quickly.
Last night we prepared a presentation to give to the team today (End of phase 3!!!). They will be at our apartment around 4:45pm (Italy time). It will be nice to find out what is next and actually meet the team!
Today was very frustrating in class. I felt like I could not understand a single thing our teachers were saying and I don't know how to ask questions in Italian. I also felt a little bored and sick of sitting in a classroom! Pray for my attitude, I know that I am constantly being pushed out of everything I like, enjoy and all that I know is comfortable. Pray that the devil will not have a foothold in any of these areas that are difficult. I was reading in Ecclesiasties last night and the hope I cling to from those chapters is to delight in the Lord no matter what the circumstance is. On the way to school today I prayed, "Lord, if it is rough, if it is good, if it is wonderful, if it is terrible, let me constantly bless Your Name." Even in these moments of frustration, I must continue to bless His Name. Wow, that is so easy to type on here, but so hard to live out!
Along with attitude, please pray for clarity of mind. I find myself drifting off in day dreams often. Pray that this would stop and that I can focus on the task before me. The worst times are on the bus. I have been battling this mind drifting since about Saturday. As Bethany and I would say, "What is on the screen saver of your mind?" I know mine isn't good. Pray that the devil again would not use this to tempt me or to discourage me.
Pray that we get enough rest. :)
Also be in prayer for the people we do have contact wtih here. That hearts would be open to hearing the Good News and that we would know what to say so they understand.
Here are some pictures from this past weekend. I want to thank you all who are praying. Please let me know how you are doing and what I can be in prayer for you about. Miss you!
This is a gate to a castle! We walked along the outside wall on a beautiful road that made me think we were in the story of Pilgrim's Progress.
Don't you wish you could explore places like these with us? :)
This is what the other side of the wall looks like on the way to the castle!
The castle! But we could not go inside. Hopefully we'll find more to explore!
There are all sorts of plants in Genova. This is alfalfa! It was just growing on the side of the road! 
On our way down from exploring the castle area, we came across this air show! (Mom, be sure to show Sam this picture please!)
This is one of the areas on the coast we saw on Saturday. The waves were huge! The blue railing in the left of the photo is how far most of the waves were. I tried to get a picture of it, but the picture doesn't do justice for what it actually was like!
This a wave, wish you could see it for real!
Ok, the plants never cease to amaze me here! This is a HUGE cactus on the coast! We have seen others, but this is the only picture I have taken!Monday, June 8, 2009
Update from the Weekend
Our late night adventures went well. We ate some food and walked around. There were mostly young people our age and younger out, LOTS OF THEM! I guess it is the thing to do late on Friday and Saturday nights.
Saturday we went to some areas on the coast, they were beautiful, one was more touristy, so not really my favorite, but the other was less popular, but more beautiful! Took some pictures of the water since the waves were huge! I'll have to put them up later.
Also on Saturday we went to the grocery store to fill our kitchen, well, we unloaded our cart at the check out counter and realized we were breaking some kind of norm, everyone behind us gave us weird looks and then they opened up another line! Haha! Then we found out that we have to weigh the produce, and put the sticker on the bag... well things we probably would not know until we try and fail! :)
Then all we had to carry the food back in was our backpacks and so we filled our packs, then we had to ask for bags... all in Italian! That poor cashier!
So we then attempted to go home with our backs loaded down with groceries. I felt like a granny pack mule! What a site we must be for the Italians!
Sunday we went to the only Baptist church in all of Genova. There were a lot of people crammed in the small building and there were many people from all over the world there. The first man who approached us was filipino, named Andrew. We also met a girl from Spain, a girl from Hungary, a guy from Greece, a guy from England, and a guy from India named Chandra. Andrew and Chandra hung out with us all afternoon, they helped us understand some things about ordering at resturants and some other modes of transpotation. We really enjoyed our time with them and they would not let us pay for anything! They said they do this with visitors because no one welcomed them to the church when they came 4 years ago, so they decided togethter that they would change that and make the visitors feel welcome by feeding them and just spending time on Sunday afternoon with them. It was great. In many ways I felt like I was back in Chicago on a Sunday evening with my church and friends. It was also nice to talk about spiritual things with people who understand the Italian culture and gain a better understanding of the people we are interacting with daily. The need for a knowledge of a loving God is so great here. I cannot wait to learn more about the church planting project that the team is doing here in Italy!
Today we have begun phase 3, glad to say though that without trying we have already completed some of the assignments, giving us time to prepare our presentaion to the team that we will need to have ready by Wednesday at 3pm. Also, we have about 3 more places to explore and one more mode of transportation to take. We also will be taking our friend Julie from England out to lunch tomorrow... she is interested in all we are doing, so pray that we can be a light to her and that our friendship will grow. Pray also that we will have the words to say to her!
One last thing, we did laundry last night and what an adventure that was! Thankfully we did not drop any clothes while hanging them to dry! :)
Thank you again for your prayers as this adventure continues! Hard to believe we only have 5 weeks left!
Saturday we went to some areas on the coast, they were beautiful, one was more touristy, so not really my favorite, but the other was less popular, but more beautiful! Took some pictures of the water since the waves were huge! I'll have to put them up later.
Also on Saturday we went to the grocery store to fill our kitchen, well, we unloaded our cart at the check out counter and realized we were breaking some kind of norm, everyone behind us gave us weird looks and then they opened up another line! Haha! Then we found out that we have to weigh the produce, and put the sticker on the bag... well things we probably would not know until we try and fail! :)
Then all we had to carry the food back in was our backpacks and so we filled our packs, then we had to ask for bags... all in Italian! That poor cashier!
So we then attempted to go home with our backs loaded down with groceries. I felt like a granny pack mule! What a site we must be for the Italians!
Sunday we went to the only Baptist church in all of Genova. There were a lot of people crammed in the small building and there were many people from all over the world there. The first man who approached us was filipino, named Andrew. We also met a girl from Spain, a girl from Hungary, a guy from Greece, a guy from England, and a guy from India named Chandra. Andrew and Chandra hung out with us all afternoon, they helped us understand some things about ordering at resturants and some other modes of transpotation. We really enjoyed our time with them and they would not let us pay for anything! They said they do this with visitors because no one welcomed them to the church when they came 4 years ago, so they decided togethter that they would change that and make the visitors feel welcome by feeding them and just spending time on Sunday afternoon with them. It was great. In many ways I felt like I was back in Chicago on a Sunday evening with my church and friends. It was also nice to talk about spiritual things with people who understand the Italian culture and gain a better understanding of the people we are interacting with daily. The need for a knowledge of a loving God is so great here. I cannot wait to learn more about the church planting project that the team is doing here in Italy!
Today we have begun phase 3, glad to say though that without trying we have already completed some of the assignments, giving us time to prepare our presentaion to the team that we will need to have ready by Wednesday at 3pm. Also, we have about 3 more places to explore and one more mode of transportation to take. We also will be taking our friend Julie from England out to lunch tomorrow... she is interested in all we are doing, so pray that we can be a light to her and that our friendship will grow. Pray also that we will have the words to say to her!
One last thing, we did laundry last night and what an adventure that was! Thankfully we did not drop any clothes while hanging them to dry! :)
Thank you again for your prayers as this adventure continues! Hard to believe we only have 5 weeks left!
Friday, June 5, 2009
More Adventures!
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!
Please remeber Janae and I today between 3 p.m. (mountain time) and 6 p.m. (mountain time) (That is 4 & 7 p.m. for central time). Part of our next phase is to go out to some places after 11 p.m. and after 12:30 a.m., that's right, two girls exploring things at night in a foreign land! Pray for safety and confidence, we both would never do this where we live in the States without a male escort, so this is definetly out of our comfort zones! Thanks for your prayers, I will let you know how it all goes and what we experience. I will also post at a later date what the rest of our phase 2 assignment is. I will not be back on until probably Monday... so have a great weekend and thanks for the prayers! Enjoy the LONG list of pictures! Remember: God is good!
Yesterday we walked around and found a 'ascensore' (elevator) that takes people to another level of the city (Genova is on the coast and it is a very mountainous city!) It was a great view of the entire city and coast.
This is a picture of Genova from the 'ascensore'. A very beautiful city!
Genova is slightly overwhelming, huh? Yeah, we think so too!!
The intersectin to the left of the tower in this picture is what we walk through on our way to Italian school, Monday-Friday.
One of the first things I noticed as we rode in the taxi from the airport to the appartment was the trees. There are palm trees, and there are evergreen trees! Interesting... hope you can see the trees in this picture...
These window shades are on virtually all the windows here. I really think they look like lego windows!! :) Ruth, Heidi, Samuel and Peter will know what I mean!
These clothelines are outside of every building, we wonder what happens if you accidently drop your clothes when hanging them to dry on the 7th floor? haha
More common than the 'ascensore' (elevators) are these step paths or the sloping driveways... so lots of exercise!
Janae & I at the 'ascensore' looking out at the beautiful port city of Genova!
One of the beautiful places we discovered yesterday as we were searching for the train. We were actually on the other side of the street and happened to glance through a bland colored arch to these bright, brilliant colors!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Last Day of Phase 1
Today is the last day of phase one of our cultural imersion project that the missionaries have set up. Yesterday after I wrote, Janae and I located a place to exchange our u.s. money... the post office. We found out (after I looked up how to say "how come it is so busy today?" in the Italian phrase book) that the post office is ALWAYS busy, needless to say we waited over 2 hours to change our money! Americans would have been so upset! No one in the U.S. would have waited that long to do anything! What a fun observation!! haha
After that we were super hungry, so we went to a resturant close to the internet cafe place we were at earlier in the day. We split a greek salad, which was a nice change from the little pasta and bread we have been eating since we got here. (We do not know what to buy concerning food because we want to eat Italian things, but do not know how to make them, so it is hard to buy things with Italian labels and not know what to make with them!) Hopefully we can find some recepies or something to help us learn how to cook Italian dishes.
We have been journaling a LOT since we are not able to have wireless internet in the apartment, which is good, I think we will remember the trip a lot better since we journal so much!
Today we have to finish the requirements for phase 1. This means we must figure out how to get on and use the train system. And we have a shop that we still need to find as well as get some fancy drink there... maybe our first alchohlic beverage??
We also have to explore I think one more area as well as get more groceries. Should be interesting! I also need to exchange more U.S. $ because as I said above, I am pretty much broke! So pray that we are not too tired and that we communicate well. That is the biggest prayer request that Janae and I would not get frustrated with eachother, but communicate so that we can work together to find our destinations and get what we need!
The encouragement from girls on the floor at Moody and from Bethany today was simmilar, to lay everything at the throne of God. All my worries, frustrations, and even the good things, lay it before Him. Thank you for your kind words! I appreciate you all very much! Email me if you have questions, I am not sure I can email everyone back, but I can for sure include answers in the next blog. I hope your June 4 goes well, since I am a few hours further into it at the time of writing this! :) Miss you!
It is a challenge to type on this key board, so if things are not spelled right or are not clear, blame it on that or the fact that my brain is trying to sort out English, Italian, and Spanish!)
We were able to get bus tickets after the time at the post office. So I exchanged $60 (U.S.) and I received 38.99£, the bus ticket cost 36£... so I did not get to experience for long what it feels like to be 'rich' in europe!! haha
After that we were super hungry, so we went to a resturant close to the internet cafe place we were at earlier in the day. We split a greek salad, which was a nice change from the little pasta and bread we have been eating since we got here. (We do not know what to buy concerning food because we want to eat Italian things, but do not know how to make them, so it is hard to buy things with Italian labels and not know what to make with them!) Hopefully we can find some recepies or something to help us learn how to cook Italian dishes.
We have been journaling a LOT since we are not able to have wireless internet in the apartment, which is good, I think we will remember the trip a lot better since we journal so much!
Today we have to finish the requirements for phase 1. This means we must figure out how to get on and use the train system. And we have a shop that we still need to find as well as get some fancy drink there... maybe our first alchohlic beverage??
We also have to explore I think one more area as well as get more groceries. Should be interesting! I also need to exchange more U.S. $ because as I said above, I am pretty much broke! So pray that we are not too tired and that we communicate well. That is the biggest prayer request that Janae and I would not get frustrated with eachother, but communicate so that we can work together to find our destinations and get what we need!
The encouragement from girls on the floor at Moody and from Bethany today was simmilar, to lay everything at the throne of God. All my worries, frustrations, and even the good things, lay it before Him. Thank you for your kind words! I appreciate you all very much! Email me if you have questions, I am not sure I can email everyone back, but I can for sure include answers in the next blog. I hope your June 4 goes well, since I am a few hours further into it at the time of writing this! :) Miss you!
It is a challenge to type on this key board, so if things are not spelled right or are not clear, blame it on that or the fact that my brain is trying to sort out English, Italian, and Spanish!)
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Arrived in Italy
Made it to Italy right on time on Monday, June 1. Before we left Kansas City, we were given letters from the Avant missionaries here in Italy. We were informed that no one would be at the airport to pick us up, we would be in the dark (no communication, except for emergencies) with the team for a time. This is all a part of our 3 phase cultural immersion. So upon arrival we had to change our u.s. dollars to euro, get a cab, and try to communicate to the Itallian driver our address. I must add that the only thing we messed up with was walking out of the airport, I led us through the emergency exit door instead of the nice revolving doors to our left! Oops! We got some interesting looks from the people there! (As well as a nice alarm sound!)
Janae & I waiting in Chicago to fly to Munich.
One of the missionaries (guy named Dustin who worked on dish crew while a student at MBI), was in the appartment waiting for us. He gave us keys, phones, journals, and other info, but he simply told us that we had to figure stuff out on our own, if we had an emergency, we are to contact him. So part of the instructions is for us to attend Itallian school Monday-Friday at the given address, and then we also are to explore a few areas and acquire bus passes and groceries. (All of this with a few maps, no english! and jet-lag!!!)
We walked around looking for internet the first afternoon, found none. Yesterday was a holiday, but we only found that out after we wandered around forever looking for internet, a place to exchange our money, and to buy euros. Well, all we found yesterday was all we needed, we found our school! Since it was a holiday yesterday we were not expected to be at school because it was closed. (Nice since we needed to figure out how to get there and how long it would take us to get there!)
A lizzard we found on our walk, played dead the whole time, but I am convinced he is alive!
So at the end of the day, after much frustration, tired legs, and some hunger, Janae and I journaled for a while, and talked about other things. But what God taught me through the difficulty yesterday in our searches, came earlier before we left the apartment. Bethany Baxter gave me some cards to read every day while I am here in Italy, and the first one that I read yesterday said this: "You have EVERYTHING you need." At the end of the day that was so true. All we had accomplished was knowing where our school was and that was our only need! We may have thought that we "needed" internet or bus passes, or money, but no, just directions and exploring! Praise God, He does know our every need, and He helped us navigate our way in an unfamiliar land!
Today was our first time at the Itallian school. I realized how much spanish I know and remember! But I am having trouble with recognizing the different sounds of the letters. Pray that Janae and I will learn the language and not get frustrated! There are simmilarities to Spanish, but it is still a whole nother language!
We did find internet, hence this update, but it is limited time since we have limited money since we have not found a place yet to change our money to euro. If you read this LONG update in the next few minutes, pray we find a place to change our money! And a place to get bus passes.
I will update again soon, I hope! The first phase of our cultural immersion project ends tomorrow, but that means that we will be on to phase 2. Pray for that phase, as yet again, I am sure it will hold new unknowns and challenges!
Thank you so much for your prayers. I am praying for you as well!
Janae & I waiting in Chicago to fly to Munich.One of the missionaries (guy named Dustin who worked on dish crew while a student at MBI), was in the appartment waiting for us. He gave us keys, phones, journals, and other info, but he simply told us that we had to figure stuff out on our own, if we had an emergency, we are to contact him. So part of the instructions is for us to attend Itallian school Monday-Friday at the given address, and then we also are to explore a few areas and acquire bus passes and groceries. (All of this with a few maps, no english! and jet-lag!!!)
We walked around looking for internet the first afternoon, found none. Yesterday was a holiday, but we only found that out after we wandered around forever looking for internet, a place to exchange our money, and to buy euros. Well, all we found yesterday was all we needed, we found our school! Since it was a holiday yesterday we were not expected to be at school because it was closed. (Nice since we needed to figure out how to get there and how long it would take us to get there!)
A lizzard we found on our walk, played dead the whole time, but I am convinced he is alive!So at the end of the day, after much frustration, tired legs, and some hunger, Janae and I journaled for a while, and talked about other things. But what God taught me through the difficulty yesterday in our searches, came earlier before we left the apartment. Bethany Baxter gave me some cards to read every day while I am here in Italy, and the first one that I read yesterday said this: "You have EVERYTHING you need." At the end of the day that was so true. All we had accomplished was knowing where our school was and that was our only need! We may have thought that we "needed" internet or bus passes, or money, but no, just directions and exploring! Praise God, He does know our every need, and He helped us navigate our way in an unfamiliar land!
Today was our first time at the Itallian school. I realized how much spanish I know and remember! But I am having trouble with recognizing the different sounds of the letters. Pray that Janae and I will learn the language and not get frustrated! There are simmilarities to Spanish, but it is still a whole nother language!
We did find internet, hence this update, but it is limited time since we have limited money since we have not found a place yet to change our money to euro. If you read this LONG update in the next few minutes, pray we find a place to change our money! And a place to get bus passes.
I will update again soon, I hope! The first phase of our cultural immersion project ends tomorrow, but that means that we will be on to phase 2. Pray for that phase, as yet again, I am sure it will hold new unknowns and challenges!
Thank you so much for your prayers. I am praying for you as well!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Big Day is Here
In a few hours my teammate, Janae, and I will be in the Kansas City airport boarding the plane on our way to Chicago, then to Munich and eventually end up in Genoa, Italy early afternoon on Monday, June 1. I must say that I have butterflies and excitement welling up inside me!
The last few days we have been in Kansas City getting more familiar with Avant and it has been an incredible time of growth, learning, and preparation with 5 other girls who are also doing internships with Avant this summer. I wish I could share on here all that we have learned in the sessions we've had, but alas, I want people to come back here and read what I update, so that means I should keep these updates short! :)
The key thing is flexibility. I have heard it over and over again from so many people and that must be what God wants me to know right now. I may not know anything else, but that's ok. If I'm flexible, that's ok! The other thing has been to remember what God has done in the past and what He has done to get me where I am today. I also have been learning to listen to people and be slow to speak.
Please be praying for Janae and I as we leave for Italy tomorrow (well actually today by the time most people read this!).
Also be in prayer for the other interns who we have all grown close to in the last few days:
Charity in Spain
Michaela in Argentina
Jessica in Prague
Brittany in Kansas City
Pray that God would use us and teach us much, also be praying for Satan to not have any foothold in our lives, hearts, and minds as we go out and that we would be on our guard ready to fight in the battle. Pray also that God would confirm in our lives what He wants us to do next and show us our gifts and how to better use those gifts for His service.
Thank you for your partnership in this adventure! He is faithful!
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1Corinthians 15:58
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Days Away!
As the days are quickly approaching for my departure to Italy, I have been super busy attending graduations and a wedding. This has included much travel and seeing many family and friends. The most asked question I have received is, "what will you be doing in Italy?". I respond to this by saying that I will be with a church planting team of about 10 adults. They each have different roles they play in the church planting process, I as the intern will shadow each member as well as do anything they ask me to do. I do not know more details right now, and that is fine. I am willing to be flexible and learn from the missionaries!
Yesterday I attended a wedding for a couple that I met at Moody. Both of them are my good friends, and it was a joy to spend the day with their families and the rest of our friends. The groom's brother is one of the missionaries in Italy on the team I will be working with. I was able to meet him, his wife, and one of their little boys. I was happy to put faces to people I have been emailing and I think meeting them has helped mentally prepare me for the reality of what is to come in a few days.
Please be in prayer for:
- Good weather conditions concerning travel.
- Safety in travel
- Spiritual readiness for me and Janae
- Physical rest in these last few days before we leave
- Our hearts to be open and ready to be taught and that God would go before us, preparing the way
Those of you on my snail-mail list will be receiving the above prayer card shortly. If you want me to send you a card, please email me your snail-mail address!
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