Exchange 2.0

Hey, friends!
Surprise, surprise, the second Italian-American exchange was wonderful.  It's pretty amazing to see the bridges God can build in just ten days!  Four Italian students came this year, and each absolutely loved his/her time in Athens.  The Lord provided some great host students and families, and not only created friendships among each pair but unified the group as a whole.  From skeet-shooting to shopping, bon-fires to World of Coke, soul food to American desserts, Italian classes to campus experiences, the group had a lot of fun!

post-skeet shooting

When I asked each student individually about the best part of the trip during their final weekend, the responses were all unanimous- the people.  Just like in the year before, these four had never been exposed to a large group of authentic Christ-followers, and couldn't get over the way they were honored and served.  Even more, each student really loved going to church- even the two who initially said they would not like to go, then changed their minds.  It was neat to see how God orchestrated timing, because the students actually got to go to worship the Sunday they left, on a day the set list covered songs all about salvation and God's love for us.  The goodbyes after a time singing were tearful in the church parking lot, but so incredible to see the way the Lord brought people together beyond the cultural, personal, lingual, and spiritual barriers.  One student recognized that God brought him to Athens for a reason, and he is now going to the bilingual Bible study my teammates in Rome have started!  The others all brought up various spiritual questions throughout the exchange and left pondering a gospel they had never heard before.

Please be in prayer that God would continue His work in them until completion, and that one day the Italian nation would worship Him in spirit and in truth!

Final Days

     Hey, everyone...this time, from America.  The last month has been a blur, between sleepless nights in Rome maximizing time with friends, coming back to Georgia, physically recovering at my parents' house, slowly seeing a few friends who encouraged me while abroad, organizing for the second Italian-American exchange, moving to Athens again, and preparing for law school.  Until now I haven't been able to even think about updating, though not from the craziness of the reasons listed previously.  I've been trying to wrap my mind around being in the States for the indefinite, immediate future, readjust my thinking to life here, and it's been extremely difficult.  Glory to God for taking the hardest, most taxing and frustrating year of my life and turning it into the most beautiful, fulfilling, challenging, and wonderful year I have experienced yet, with relationships far deeper than I could have imagined possible.

     One day I'll sit and try to articulate for you a glimpse of all the Lord taught me and did during my time in Rome, but for now I'll just share a few updates from my last week and the happenings since.  One might think in the last week prior to an international move life would slow down for those who are timely in preparing to return, or for others on the opposite end speed up to such an extent you can't see God, but praise the Lord His Spirit moved in marvelous ways despite the chaos.  As the last post showed, Manuela was brought to our family in my last week!  She is still so excited to be a child of God, and before I left our team had a "welcome to the family" breakfast for her.  Her decision for Jesus alone blew me away, yet God was not finished working.

     Three days before I left, several of us returned to our favorite beach in a city called Sperlonga.  My English friend Pippa was in town, and came with us.  (Funny how the Lord has a way of bringing things full circle, she was in Rome my first and last weekend there, none between).  Pippa had just come from an American road trip with Cristina, where things she saw or heard in conversation revolved around Jesus.  God provided a few hours for us to talk alone at the beach, and her questions to me showed the evidence of the Spirit tugging at her heart.  While she is not yet my sister, I am thankful to see His pursuit of her, and to have been a person she felt comfortable talking to about issues so serious that she typically keeps to herself.

    Two days before I left, Wayne and Matteo accompanied me to revisit my favorite city near Rome, Bracciano.  We had planned this trip for a month, and I was worried we'd be too busy to make it happen.  However, with those sweet boys that wasn't a problem- Matteo refused to let anything come between our time together.  Sharon joined us for the morning, then had to return to Rome for work.  It turned out to be a mixed blessing though, because over lunch our conversation turned to Jesus.  Crazy to think now how I felt so strongly the need to be available to the two boys before I left, and even more, to tell Matteo "Gesù ti ama," or, "Jesus loves you."  I was wondering how to bring it up, when Wayne started asking me questions on my faith.  I think, as I saw with several friends my last week, they wanted to really explore and hear from me all I believed before I left...it almost gave a sense of urgency, which was pretty cool.  While Wayne was asking me questions from an intellectual, curious standpoint (in English), Matteo would be really quiet and listen.  If he didn't understand something and Wayne translated too infrequently, Matteo would start hitting him and demanding an immediate translation.  As I was watching Matteo, I saw the intensity of emotion in his eyes and knew that the Lord was working.  Prior to our trip to Bracciano, Matteo had spoken with Taylor on some of his concerns with things his mother or priest had (falsely) told him of God, like how God could never love him.  Wayne had also shared a long conversation about faith with Jason.  We talked for over three hours- after lunch, Matteo did not want to stop.  The whole thing was surreal, and God more than made up for my elementary Italian.  Wayne translated the bulk of what I would say, which caused him to really have to listen, process, and repeat it to Matteo.  When he would leave at sporadic intervals, I got to speak to Matteo in very simple Italian and present the love, acceptance, and doorway to relationship with Jesus.  Though I was worried of not communicating well, it was actually better because I couldn't use 'churchy' language-only short, simple truths that I know the Lord wanted him to hear.  Now, these two boys are on my heart stronger than ever before, and I pray the Spirit will continue drawing them to Himself and His freedom.

Wayne and Matteo, such dear friends

      Saying goodbye to the exchange girls, Claudia, Silvia, and Manuela, started the long steps of actually leaving.  They met me for gelato, and surprised me with two gifts for departure.  One is a book in Italian, called (translated) "Jesus, Buddha, and Socrates."  That made me laugh, though also glad that when they thought of what I might like, it had something to do with Jesus!  Claudia picked out a picture frame of a ladybug, (not) coincidentally the same symbol the Lord gave me a year and a half ago when I was praying about going to Rome.  The picture they selected has all five of us, Sara too, and now sits in my room to remind me to pray for them often.  Another fun thing, is Silvia created a facebook group for the five of us to share updates, pictures, and other random things.  So far, it's been a fun way to stay in touch!

full circle: our last photo in a gelateria in Italy
after our first was in a frozen yogurt shop in Athens

     My last day in Rome felt like one of the longest in my life, though it might have been replaced by the day I had to leave.  People dropped by my apartment throughout the day to say goodbye, so pretty much I cried on and off the whole time I was trying to pack.  A few friends wrote me letters for the plane, and Sharon's specifically will always be so special to me because what she saw the most in me was truly the Lord, though she doesn't know it yet-love.  While the series of goodbyes over those final days were absolutely miserable, in a weird way, I'm glad they were among the hardest I have ever had to do- that reflects all that Christ did to grow and deepen relationships over short periods of time in a supernatural way.
    Kyra cooked one of my favorite meals for dinner, and the team members still in Rome for the summer all came over- Dudley and Janet, Taylor and Cristina, Jason and Caleb.  After sharing about our weeks, typical house church style, and eating delicious food together, Cristina led us in worship.  To finish our team night off, my family surrounded me and covered me in prayer for this next season in my life.  Those moments struck me as strongly as my commissioning one year ago, and I hope I will always remember them.
    The singles on the team, those who I was with the most and share many of my friends, stayed with me most the night.  We walked through San Paolo together, just kind of passing time until the next morning when they would all take me to the airport.  Taylor, Caleb, Cristina, and Jason are now the ones carrying Christ to our group, and they are in the process of starting a bilingual Bible study for Manuela that several of our friends have also expressed interest in trying (including Matteo and Marco).  Please join me in prayer for them as they begin this venture of creating a relevant time of worship and discussion; today was the second meeting.  I am so thankful I know the Lord has placed each of them specifically in Rome for a purpose, and that I had the blessing of serving with them to advance His kingdom in Europe.

my last night with my teammates and family,
in front of our zone's trademark welcome sign

    Now....now what? That's the question!  Literally, now I am getting ready to go meet our four Italian students arriving in Athens in an hour.  Marco, Veronica, Marta, and Silvia- these are friends and former conversational students of mine, here for the second year of our exchange program.  After seeing all the Lord did last year, we are excited to see what He has in store for these four! Please be in prayer for them, their host students, and host families...pray that they may see Jesus in a new way, so one day they too will know Him.  They will be in Athens for 10 days, so check back later for a recap :)

Brooke's sweet gift to me upon returning,
 with a heart for Rome...always.

God is SO good!

Friends, God is faithful!!  On Thursday Manuela and I got together for another Bible chat session, and the Spirit completely worked in our time.  We started reading and discussing different books together at the end of April, roughly meeting once every 1-2 weeks.  Each time we've met I've been so encouraged and amazed by how the Lord was speaking to her, even when she didn't see it herself.  It was awesome to see how she had underlined, starred,or question marked passages that stood out to her, and Manuela would always ask pretty difficult, developed questions reflecting a grasp of Scripture that surprised me for a seeker.  Over the weeks our conversations and her vulnerability would grow deeper, so the amount of prayer for her by others increased to ask God to continue to reveal Himself to her and give her the courage to take the leap and turn everything over to Jesus.

Well, in His infinite goodness, God responded to our prayers.  While we were in our most common spot, a picnic blanket in San Paolo park, Manuela told me she wanted to accept God's grace to follow Jesus with her life, and asked me to pray with her.  The bits I understood in Italian were so beautiful, and to see a glimpse of how God transcends cultures to be a relevant and personal Father for all peoples was incredible.  Manuela is now a child of God, our sweet new sister in Christ!!!

"In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nie others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!"
-Luke 15:7

Blurbs

Well, goodness....the last month has felt a bit like falling into a time warp, and I'm just now given a chance to breathe.  Now that I'm down to my final days in Rome I'm trying more than ever to pour as much of myself and my time in here as possible daily, so forgive my lapse in stateside communication!

Here's a run through of the last month, in reader-friendly bullet form to alleviate the lengthy recap:

• Overall, our retreat was awesome.  We all needed a break from Rome, and the region we went to (Umbria) was absolutely beautiful.  The Lord really blessed us with rest and time together before splitting up indefinitely.  Unfortunately, the last night was pretty crazy...but certainly has been used as a bonding experience! Three thieves broke into the cabin where myself, Taylor, Cristina, Jason, Caleb, Dudley, and Janet were staying.  Jason ended up surprising and fighting with one, though fortunately when Caleb went out to help they all scattered and no one was severely injured.  Thanks to the boys, the only things that were taken were from the thieves' first stop- our (the girls') room.  Everyone else on our team was okay, and now I definitely have a new understanding of what the Scriptures mean when they say the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1st Thessalonians 5:2).
• Caleb made a video showing the area, you can see it here.
• On May 15th our gallery opened a new exhibit, my friend Francesco's art show.  The inauguration went very well, with over 200 people passing through.  He's working on an English translation of the poem that accompanies the photographs- once it's complete and online, I will post the link.  The exhibit is really incredible- unique technique, yes, but even more it gives a picture of the search one undergoes in life to find meaning....we pray God shows Francesco and the others that the answer is Himself!



flyer for the show

• 
  
• Taylor and I hit crazy land with exams at the university.  There was a big misunderstanding with the professor among students, and they came in droves to meet us for the oral exam substitution requirement (3 hours of conversation, broken up in 3 appointments each).  Needless to say, for those few weeks the two of us practically moved into the studio for lessons for the 70ish students we could cram together in the short time span.
• My dad and Brooke came to visit for a weekend! That was fun, though super short.  It was great to see Brooke here for a few days, I'm very fortunate to have a family that's supported me so  much during my time here!

• 
  
• Since I'm leaving soon, the exchange girls have really banded together to find opportunities for us to hang out- it's been fantastic! We celebrated Manuela's birthday party with some hilarious karaoke, went to a strawberry festival in Nemi for a day, and miscellaneous other activities.  I'm so glad they are planning several things for us in the next three days, and pray the Lord will continue to work through our friendships!



Manuela wanted us all to wear red for the festival-
it's all about the photo opps with her!

• 
  
• God has been doing some really cool things on our prayer walks down the Colombo (the highway near our apartments).  Cristina, Kyra, Taylor and I fit in one last outreach before we were split up, and it ended with us seeing very vividly what goes on in the darkness of the illicit sex industry.  While that occurrence affected us all greatly and will be an unforgettable image, we are thankful for the affirmation of the need for prayer and spiritual intervention in the hearts of those involved.  Also, God has given us favor with two of the girls, Paola and Bianca, who actually turn down clients who come up when we are visiting!
• The long series of goodbyes has started among our international friend group...very sad.  Cristina was the first, and we have someone leaving every few weeks.  The upside of that is we (whoever is in Rome) tries to spend as much time as possible together, to make the most of these final weeks.  I have a feeling a few of these friends will be asking me some last minute, intense spiritual questions before I leave, so please pray the Spirit will give me the words to say when it's time. 

• 

  our new tradition, late night monument walks

• On top of everything going on here, there have been some big changes for me stateside.  A few weeks ago I decided to move my law school enrollment from Mercer to UGA, well after the deadline of course. It's been a flurry of emails, arrangements, Skype conversations, etc, but I know when it's all said and done I will be excited to see what the Lord has in store for me in Athens since He so clearly redirected me!
• Saving the biggest update for last...Manuela and I have been meeting on a weekly basis to talk about the Bible! Yáll, she is so, SO close to choosing a life with Christ...please be in prayer for her.  She comes to our lunches together with many things underlined in her Bible, difficult questions, and topics for discussion.  God has done a marvelous work in her to this point, so now we need to pray He carries it through to completion for her to make the leap of faith!

"...Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel."

-Ephesians 6:19

More, Jesus, More

I just love the late spring/early summer season...life always seems to be craziest here, but it's tipped in a positive direction, as always!  Something about the weather getting warmer and people being outside makes a difference...Vitamin D, maybe?  Same as the last post, there are a lot of exciting things the Lord is doing here now!

Last week started off incredibly encouraging for me.  Two Sundays ago I went to a lunch the Karrs and a member of their local church, Julia, were hosting in our area for a short term team of students coming to work in Rome for a week from Holland.  The group was from Athletes in Action, a ministry that uses sports as a common language all over the world and a chance to meet people in new places.  Myself, Cristina, Jason, and Caleb (the journeyguys) joined the Karrs and Julia to welcome the four Dutch students in our area.  After a fun lunch getting to know each other, they wanted to worship.   These sweet students started singing with us, and I was unbelievably thankful to have a chance to worship in English for the first time in over 8 months.  Music is so special to me, and corporate worship is at the top of my list for things I miss from my life in Athens-these four, and the rest of their team, actually reminded me a lot of that fantastic SWAT community I've missed.  That Sunday afternoon with those four Dutch students is one I will always remember.  I went with the Karrs to their hang out time in a park the next Wednesday evening to see them one last time before they left Rome and join them in connecting with locals through volleyball, soccer, and frisbee.  At the park I got to meet the rest of the team, and after saying bye to random park friends collected throughout the day we had a fun time eating with the Karr's local church (Breccia), talking about God's movement in Rome, and learning about the "crazy Dutch," as they say.  Hanging out with them, the Dutch team and the tiny Italian evangelical church, was such a neat glimpse of the body of Christ!

me and the "crazy Dutch" from lunch..beautiful people
I'm looking forward to seeing again in heaven!

Last Thursday, Manuela and I met in the park for our first time talking about the Bible after she's read.  I thought we would discuss maybe the first chapter of Romans, but she read through chapter 8!  She had a ton of questions, many very difficult, but the Spirit completely guided the conversation and it was awesome.  We talked about grace (our main topic), the justness of God, His Sovereignty, how He reaches individuals in different nations, and much more.  Today I gave her a new Bible, since her old one is a Catholic Bible and she calls it a dictionary (it's massive), and she was quite excited to start underlining.  Get this, she's also talked to her mom about grace and her mom was interested and came up with many questions!!  Please be in prayer for not only her, but her family and friends she is starting to tell about Jesus as she is considering the decision to follow Him with her life and heart!

Right after that incredible afternoon with Manuela, Sharon and I headed to Ireland for a long weekend.  It's pretty cool that Dublin was the one city I wanted to make sure I saw this time in Europe, and the Lord brought me a wonderful friend who lives there.  While I was excited to see everything, really it was a fantastic opportunity to spend time with Sharon.  The entirety of our first day (Friday) we spent with her family, in honor of her brother's confirmation.  Since Sharon was in Dublin for a confirmation ceremony, religion came up often in passing and the Lord provided opportunities here and there for me to share pieces of what I believe or what's different in the evangelical church than the Catholic church.  This trip strengthened our relationship, since we got four solid days together and I spent significant time with either her family or boyfriend as well.  I'm looking forward to seeing doors the Lord opens from here...and praying frequently that even though she seems so far off, the arm that is never too short to save will lead her to Him.  

Sharon and I in front of Newgrange, the oldest building structure
(older than the pyramids!).  Newgrange was one of many enclosed
tombs for hunter gatherers 5,000 years ago.

Tomorrow morning (or since it's post-midnight, later today) our team is leaving for a much-needed retreat.  We have all been waiting for this ever since Steph surprised us with cute hand made invitations a few months ago, and it really is at the perfect time.  Cristina will be leaving at the end of the month, the Coopers go stateside in June, then I have to leave in July, so we are all glad to have a weekend resting in our God, encouraging each other, and growing together before the summer splits.  Life has been fun lately, full of people time and students that all of a sudden want to be around us often, but breaks are necessary.  We'd love if you would pray for our retreat this weekend, that we would be drawn nearer to Jesus and return to Rome rested and ready to go!

Break Ins & Break Throughs

Hey, friends!  I know I just updated recently, but there are two new areas where I would love for you to join me in prayer!

In the last few weeks there have been several break ins in our area.  We started hearing about the robberies in early April, then in the last week our team has been either directly or indirectly affected.  First the woman who lives above the Coopers was robbed, then Cristina's next door neighbor woke to two men trying to open her balcony door.  Sunday Jason and Caleb couldn't get into their apartment, and after a locksmith came to help we found out the reason was because someone had tried to crack the lock on their door.  Obviously stuff is just stuff and doesn't matter, but it is something to pray about and take precautionary measures toward since you never know when something could turn violent.  Also, this weekend after leaving Taylor's birthday party and walking home, our friend Marco was surrounded by a few guys and threatened in an area we all frequent regularly.  He got away with just a few scratches, so we're thankful and now he has fun telling his story of pulling a Chuck Norris in defense.

Now on to the really awesome part of this post- Monday afternoon the Lord blessed Manuela and I with an incredible conversation.  We met for lunch and ended up running into the boys, so we all ate together and it was good for Manuela to meet them.  Afterwards, she and I went to McDonald's (the rooftop terrace is so far where we've had our biggest spiritual conversations, believe it or not) for sundaes.  God did not disappoint this tradition, for we ended up talking about grace, prayer, making decisions, the Holy Spirit, having joy and peace in hard times, and so much more.  Through that, and her sharing that she prays but feels like something is missing, the Lord gave me a chance to share the gospel in entirety, complete with how it is on us to decide if we will accept the gift of salvation through Christ.  Huge!!  She wanted me to write all the verses we talked about, so I sent her back with them to read in Italian.  I offered to help her start reading through the Bible, beyond the gospels she's read in her father's Catholic church, and she's deciding.  Even more, she's wrapping her mind around the idea that it is a choice that we are given on whether or not we will follow Jesus with our lives through a real relationship and embrace the Holy Spirit.  Please, please join me in prayer for her as she seeks God and asks Him to show Himself to her...He is SO good, and she is so close!

precious Manuela

Scusa?

After 7 months in Rome, I have finally had a full Italian immersion weekend! Goodness, with all the language practice and late nights over the last few days, I was very thankful to have a true Sabbath today. The Lord is so good, for He answered a prayer of mine immediately from last weekend with the opportunities that He provided for this weekend.  Sometimes we wait for His answers to see more of Him in the waiting, yet others He graces us with immediate affirmations of asking in faith!

Wednesday afternoon I met with Beatrice for our third conversational lesson, and her friend Giorgia.  At the end of our time together, Giorgia offered us a coffee (exciting after the first meeting, to have a student want to extend time).  I was already pleasantly surprised with just that, so the invitation from Bea to join her and a few friends for her boyfriend's birthday celebration this weekend was shocking.  Taylor and I had just been talking on Monday how we really hoped for more chances to "be uncomfortable," as in joining a group of students who are already friends, making ourselves the outsiders and ones to overcome the language barrier, rather than having to invite new friendship prospects into our group of English speakers.  That idea of becoming the outsider, going to the darkness, has been dominating my thoughts and prayers the last two weeks, so this instant invitation from a new student was truly a gift from the Lord and affirmation He had already started preparing me for the experience.

Thursday afternoon I went out with another student, Benedetta, for our first hang out time outside of direct conversation practice.  She took me for a walk down her favorite street in Rome, and we spent several hours of the afternoon together looking in shops, a museum near the Colosseum, and chatting.  That evening as I was returning to my apartment, I received a surprise dinner invitation from Wayne.  Naturally I accepted (who turns down a free meal?), met Taylor, and we headed to his apartment where Cristina met us later.  It was such a fun night, because Wayne introduced us to two of his Italian friends (Matteo and Luigi) and the six of us hit it off as a group.  That started my spree of Italian practice, since dinner conversation was in Italian, but fortunately in a small group setting I was able to follow along most of the talk and contribute stories of my own.

our new friends, thanks to Wayne! Luigi (awesome, I know)
is center and Matteo is on the right

Friday night we had a Black & White themed birthday party for Taylor at the boys' (Caleb and Jason) apartment.  The party went on for over 7 hours, which gave lots and lots of time to talk intentionally with all who came.  I left (late late) that night feeling so excited and thankful for how the Lord worked during that time, because I got to follow up with Matteo and Luigi (fortunately my Italian was smoother the second time), got to know Lorenzo (a friend of Francesco's), have some quality time with Franny, met a few new people, and also hung out with the English speakers-Corbmac, Sharon, Alyson, Jacoba, Caleb, Jason, Cristina, Marco, Wayne, etc.  As if the night wasn't eventful enough, Corbmac and I put together a surprise for Taylor and 8 of us did a mini flashmob to Michael Jackson's "Black or White."  Needless to say, Taylor loved it and the Italians viewing determined we (Americans+Irish+friends) are in fact crazy.

flashmob group, and of course all photo attempts show
character rather than "serious" faces (way better)

Saturday night was the big night for meeting Beatrice's group, and Taylor and I left with the "we hope they like us!" attitude.  While normally I love chatting and getting to know new people, Saturday was a challenge...my dominant question became "Scusa?"  I saw how spoiled I've been with Italian friends that have decent conversational English when I was thrown in the mix of a group of Italians speaking mainly the Romano dialect for a night that didn't start until 11-clearly, when my brain is operating at its best..not.  The good news is I've become accustomed to the "smile, nod, occasional 'si'" bit when I can't keep up with most of the conversation, and Taylor has strong Italian after living here almost 4 years so she could more or less keep up.  Somehow I got through the night picking up on about 30% of the content and contributing my own in very elementary side conversations.  A big helpful factor to language lostness is the group dynamics in Italy; guys typically dominate the conversations and girls are not expected to say much, so that works great for me when I can't understand much being said!  After we (Bea, her boyfriend, brother, Taylor and myself) separated from the group, they took us to a great overlook of Rome you can only see by car.  Bea is so sweet, and sent me a follow up message today saying the group liked us and wants us to join them again soon-yes, we got the casual callback!

Rome @ 3 am 

While last night ended up being okay, it is really frustrating to work so hard to understand and simply not be able to do so.  I felt like I was in one of those driver's ed simulations where they throw in cheesy distractions - first Bea picked us up with loud house music playing in the car, then we met a large group in a pub, then it got later and later..etc etc, all factors making comprehension tougher as the night progressed.  Please pray for me, that the Lord would multiply my time so I have opportunities to study more, and simply have favor in His eyes to have what I need with language abilities provided in each scenario!

Thanks for your prayers! The Lord is really opening up some doors in Rome and drawing several people to us all of a sudden from different directions; pray His name is magnified through everything we do and His light shines!