Ciao regazzi! Aspeta tutto bene.
(Hey friends! I hope everything is well.)
Well...I haven't written a blog in FOREVER. I have been having computer problems and it is difficult to bother people here to borrow theirs, haha. Alot has happened though! Our team is still bonding and growing in Christ, and it is so beautiful to see. I have made friends that I will definetly keep for the rest of my life and it's insane that none of us knew each other before this trip. I have learned alot about the Gospel and about what it means to devote every aspect of your life to God. We are reading this book by Tim Keller called, "The Prodigal God" as a team and it has been really powerful. It discusses the parable of the lost son in depth, and I find that the Gospel is SO new to me now. I always read this parable with the mindset that Jesus was trying to show through this story the love of the father towards his younger son and the element of forgiveness. But it's so much deeper than that. This parable shows how the older brother is so self-righteous and while he did love his father, he obeyed him out of "duty", rather than love. Now if that doesn't open a can of worms, I don't know what does. I go to church and even lead worship, but why? I admit it- sometimes it is to make myself look good and bring glory to myself, but it's not about that! It's about bringing glory to God. And that is something that I have thought alot about this summer- bringing glory to God EVERYDAY. I have also come to terms that nothing within me is good. Nothing. Anything remotely good in me is 100% Christ. And that is pretty humbling. I have a deeper appreciation for God's creation and especially for the Gospel. I think all too often we neglect the power and real-life application of the Gospel and as a team this summer, we have been focusing everyday on the Gospel. I know that all of that was pretty scatterbrained, but when I return to the States perhaps I will be able to explain it better.
I am dreading leaving Salerno. I know that my work here is not done, and I hate that I have to leave. So many great things are happening here and I want to be a part of it. I don't pretend to know what God has in store for me in the future but being here has really revealed to me that I have a heart for missions in some aspect.
This is the last week in Salerno. I have made some amazing Italian friends and it's been surreal to share the Gospel with them. Please continue to pray as we all finish up some work here and please pray that our friends will be able to plug into evangelical Christians here. It's so sad to see this much progress and have to walk away, so please also pray for us as we are all emotionally torn.
We will be leaving Salerno on Sunday morning to catch a 7 HOUR BUS RIDE to Florence. Here we will do our debriefing and officially ending the project (here come the tears, haha). Monday we will sightsee in Florence and Tuesday we have the options of Venice, Tuscany, Pisa, or Cinquatera. And no, I have NO IDEA which place I will chose to go. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we will go to Rome to sightsee too! Then on Saturday we will catch a plane to Germany followed by a plane to Atlanta. So next week will be VERY busy but a great way to celebrate an amazing summer. Please pray for safe travels.
I love and miss you all and cannot wait to see you soon!
I have attached a website concerning the state of Italy...go to the site and click on either of the "VIDEO: The Condition of Italy" options to see why I chose to came here!
http://www.goucf.com/videos/
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Week 3 in Salerno
Ciao Ciao!
I cannot believe that I have been here for three weeks. And I only have 18 more days here, which honestly breaks my heart already. Last Saturday we hiked up into the mountains of Salerno and rode horses and had a picnic all afternoon, and it was just as amazing as it sounds! Saturdays are always our travel days where we explore more of Italy and it's fun to spend time with our team and continue the amazing bonds that we have. Sunday was exciting too; we went to an evangelical church about 40minutes away. It was, of course, all in Italian. But despite the language barrier, it was BEAUTIFUL to see these Italian people worship Jesus Christ. They have the passion and energy of an African American church and I could not believe how on fire they all were for the Lord. I did alot of translating to the Americans around me but we mainly talked about Jesus' ministry and how the only way to get to Heaven is through Him, which goes against the mentality here in Italy. Italians believe that Heaven is reached through good works- as Catholisism persists. Italians who are not avid or practicing Catholics believe that either there is no God, or that they are not good enough to go to Heaven. It is so heartbreaking. It's even harder because now all of us have seen how beautiful and amazing it can be when Italians fully love Jesus on last Sunday, and I want so badly to see that love carry over to the younger generation. I feel burdened for Italians. They are such an amazing group of people and I just want them to know what real love is and what it really means to have a hope. Jesus said that he would provide the words when we go to tell others of Him, and believe me- He has! I don't know where the Italian that I am speaking is coming from, and I don't know why I haven't had a problem with the language barrier at all. But I know that it is no accident and I thank God for blessing me with it. All of my friends on our team keep saying that they can definetly see me living here in Italy, and it has really been on my heart lately. Could I ever live here and work each day trying to make a difference in the lives of Italians? The thought of that blows my mind. But I wake up each morning excited about the day and excited about seeing what God will teach me and who He will bring into my path for me to tell about Him. Our team is concentrating intensely on the Gospel while we are here. We firmly believe that in order to share Jesus, we need to know the Gospel, believe the Gospel, and love what the Gospel promises and teaches. I find myself waking up in the mornings and sitting on the beach outside and reading my Bible, which before this trip, I did not see as important. God is really changing my heart, friends. He also says "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news". I firmly believe this, but my feet are looking pretty rough, haha! We walk miles and miles each day- definetly the most I have ever walked. I know this is a little gross, but I have blisters on the BOTTOM of my feet that hurt so, so bad. I guess that's part of the package! It's just amazing here. This is the happiest that I have been in a long time. And it's not just because I'm in Italy, it's because God has opened my eyes! It's like when Paul finally saw the glory of God and the scales were wiped from his eyes...I feel like God has been SO clear to me and I absolutely LOVE life. Wow! It is still hard at times here, though. I do miss home every now and then, but God has really protected my heart and I'm so happy and excited to be in His will here that I haven't been too sad or anything. It is also hard to be SO bold on campus to approach Italian students and openly share the Gospel. That is something that I NEVER saw myself doing. But here I am! And like Esther said, "If I persish, I perish." So I guess if they laugh at me, they laugh at me. None of that is eternal and I know that God is never going to leave me and I trust Him whole-heartedly. So basically, everything is going REALLY well. We are going to the Island of Capri on Saturday to do some swimming, boating, shopping, and exploring- so that will be a lot of fun! Please continue to pray for our team as we only have 18 more days in Salerno before we travel up north for a week. We all are still enjoying Salerno but we would love prayers for the Italian students and for our time sharing with them. Thank you all so much for your support and love as I step out on faith this summer. I LOVE YOU ALL!
I cannot believe that I have been here for three weeks. And I only have 18 more days here, which honestly breaks my heart already. Last Saturday we hiked up into the mountains of Salerno and rode horses and had a picnic all afternoon, and it was just as amazing as it sounds! Saturdays are always our travel days where we explore more of Italy and it's fun to spend time with our team and continue the amazing bonds that we have. Sunday was exciting too; we went to an evangelical church about 40minutes away. It was, of course, all in Italian. But despite the language barrier, it was BEAUTIFUL to see these Italian people worship Jesus Christ. They have the passion and energy of an African American church and I could not believe how on fire they all were for the Lord. I did alot of translating to the Americans around me but we mainly talked about Jesus' ministry and how the only way to get to Heaven is through Him, which goes against the mentality here in Italy. Italians believe that Heaven is reached through good works- as Catholisism persists. Italians who are not avid or practicing Catholics believe that either there is no God, or that they are not good enough to go to Heaven. It is so heartbreaking. It's even harder because now all of us have seen how beautiful and amazing it can be when Italians fully love Jesus on last Sunday, and I want so badly to see that love carry over to the younger generation. I feel burdened for Italians. They are such an amazing group of people and I just want them to know what real love is and what it really means to have a hope. Jesus said that he would provide the words when we go to tell others of Him, and believe me- He has! I don't know where the Italian that I am speaking is coming from, and I don't know why I haven't had a problem with the language barrier at all. But I know that it is no accident and I thank God for blessing me with it. All of my friends on our team keep saying that they can definetly see me living here in Italy, and it has really been on my heart lately. Could I ever live here and work each day trying to make a difference in the lives of Italians? The thought of that blows my mind. But I wake up each morning excited about the day and excited about seeing what God will teach me and who He will bring into my path for me to tell about Him. Our team is concentrating intensely on the Gospel while we are here. We firmly believe that in order to share Jesus, we need to know the Gospel, believe the Gospel, and love what the Gospel promises and teaches. I find myself waking up in the mornings and sitting on the beach outside and reading my Bible, which before this trip, I did not see as important. God is really changing my heart, friends. He also says "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news". I firmly believe this, but my feet are looking pretty rough, haha! We walk miles and miles each day- definetly the most I have ever walked. I know this is a little gross, but I have blisters on the BOTTOM of my feet that hurt so, so bad. I guess that's part of the package! It's just amazing here. This is the happiest that I have been in a long time. And it's not just because I'm in Italy, it's because God has opened my eyes! It's like when Paul finally saw the glory of God and the scales were wiped from his eyes...I feel like God has been SO clear to me and I absolutely LOVE life. Wow! It is still hard at times here, though. I do miss home every now and then, but God has really protected my heart and I'm so happy and excited to be in His will here that I haven't been too sad or anything. It is also hard to be SO bold on campus to approach Italian students and openly share the Gospel. That is something that I NEVER saw myself doing. But here I am! And like Esther said, "If I persish, I perish." So I guess if they laugh at me, they laugh at me. None of that is eternal and I know that God is never going to leave me and I trust Him whole-heartedly. So basically, everything is going REALLY well. We are going to the Island of Capri on Saturday to do some swimming, boating, shopping, and exploring- so that will be a lot of fun! Please continue to pray for our team as we only have 18 more days in Salerno before we travel up north for a week. We all are still enjoying Salerno but we would love prayers for the Italian students and for our time sharing with them. Thank you all so much for your support and love as I step out on faith this summer. I LOVE YOU ALL!
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