Buon Natale!

Ciao tutti!

I feel like I am writing too soon... if that is possible?  There are also people who write every day, and to be honest I don't even do that in my journal, haha.  I brought I think 14 journals with me, and have barely used half of one.  I have been so tired at night and I felt obligated to do so.  And if you know me at all, sometimes if I am obligated to do something, I just don't do it.  It makes me feel free to NOT do something. Lame I know, haha.  But anywho!  God is doing some AWESOME stuff I wanted to tell you about it.

First off, Buon Natale (Merry Christmas)!  I hope the season is treating you all well.  It is insane to think it is so close.  I did try to venture out to the mall here, and it was CRAZY.  If you think Wolfchase is bad (for you people in Memphis), you haven't seen anything. Haha.  It was incredibly stressful to even be in the mall, not even in the stores. Haha.  Christmas festivities have begun over on our side of the world.  Lauren, one of the girls from my apartment, went to IKEA and picked up a REAL Christmas tree, which I have never had before. haha.  The girls laughed at me when I was surprised you had to water it!  It has been beautifully decorated and also named Albert :) Last Friday (12/10), all the missional teams got together in our apartment and celebrated the holiday season.  The event was called "Soup and Sweaters".  So of course there were ugly Christmas sweaters.  Some of our team members printed out pictures of football teams they didn't like, making the sweaters "ugly" haha.  Others of us just made stuff out of cotton balls or found random decorations and pinned them to our clothing.  We also had a white elephant party; we shared non-funny gifts this year.  I got coffee :) We also sang Christmas carols, thanks to Robbie and his mad guitar playing skills. Haha.  We also had a rewrite of the "Twas the Night Before Christmas" read aloud to us.  Phillip, a guy from the agape team, rewrote the story and filled it with all of our names.  It was hilarious!  Haha.  We also had a time of sharing about what Christ is doing in our lives and how we have seen God's presence this year.  Also the reading of the true Christmas story, for the children.  Oh, and we had TONS of great food!  We had several soups, breads, salads, and desserts.  I decided to try and make red velvet cupcakes from scratch.  I of course made quite a mess, but they were sooo good.  It was great being able just to fellowship with our teammates in our home :)

God's presence has definitely been seen in my life recently.  Well, His presence is always with me, but just some really cool stuff has happened these past couple of weeks.  I have been able to form some greater relationships with the refugees I have met.  I usually have casual conversations with a few of the guys, but nothing very deep.  I have met a couple guys that I feel like Christ is really investing in.  I have also been able to share my testimony with one of the refugees who inquired how I got here.  I was able to relate my stresses of the Italian government into getting over here.  Of course they are nothing like what he has been through; but it was great to be able to tell of God's faithfulness.  I have also met another refugee from Romania, which I just think is really cool.  Most of the guys we work with are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, or Somalia.  So when he told me he was from there it really sparked my interest.  I also learned that I know NOTHING about Romania, haha.  I think he may believe that I have lived under a rock for a good portion of my life.  So when I hear his story and get like really excited about stuff he says, he just laughs like "How do you not know this?".  Oh, and for all the people who have also been told that Latin is a dead language.  People are wrong, they speak it in Transylvania, Romania. Haha.  I have seen this refugee on a regular basis now.  He is usually at the tea serving on Sunday nights. And instead of me going and just hanging back and serving tea, I got to sit and talk with him and his friend.  It was a huge barrier being broken for me.  He also asked as to how I got here, finance-wise.  So I got to share my story about my supporters, my church, how God has provided and what I believe.  It was awesome!  We have several other things set up in these next couple of weeks.  So please be praying for strength and diligence in our team.  Tonight we are having a dinner with some of our Afghani refugees friends.  We will be able to share a hot meal with a few of the refugees we have met here.  So please be praying for that time; that it will be beneficial and relationships will continue to grow, that they may see why we are here and what we are about, the Love of Christ.  We have another refugee dinner next week with some of our Somali friends, and a nun who works with Somali refugees on a daily basis.  Also, we are attending outreach Christmas parties held by some of the churches we work with.  Our final event for this holiday season will be a Christmas Cookie party.  I am "in charge" of this one, so please be praying! Haha.  Our goal is to bake about 300-ish Christmas cookies.  We will have some decorated and some undecorated so that friends (whether they be English, Italian, refugee, etc.) will be able to decorate the cookies themselves.  We are praying it will be a time of great fellowship!

I always feel the need to share what my heart is learning through these times.  In my bible study life, I have finished the study on forgiveness, I highly recommend it. It is a great study on Christ's forgiveness of our sins, why we should forgive, and how to know if we have truly forgiven others. I am studying the book of Daniel.  I am going by Kay Arthur's "What the Future Holds"; 40-Minute Study.  I must say it is not what I expected.  I read the title and thought it was talking about the immediate future.  But it being focused on Daniel, it is speaking of the end times.  I must say I was a bit disappointed.  I have never studied the end times.  I just have always thought, "Well yes, the end times are coming and we must prepare for it; but God has control so there is no need to worry about it."  But then you must realize, the time we are in now, is but a tiny breathe in the means of eternity.  So we best start preparing now!  I would also add that I am really enjoying the study now that I have gotten into it.  It has truly sparked my interest, and I enjoying learning about it.  I am trying to make it last until my roommate comes back from holiday.  I am sending her out to find another Kay Arthur study while she is home in the States for a few weeks.  Another aspect of my heart has been discouraged with thoughts of the immediate future.  I find myself wondering what it will be like to be home.  Not to sound negative at all, I miss you all very much! But I wonder what I will do when I get home.  Because honestly coming home and going back to school seems very boring and not something I want to do.  Of course, I didn't want to go to school when I was home anyways. Haha. But I reminded of Matthew 6:34;  there is no reason to worry about tomorrow.  I honestly have enough going on today.  I am where I am supposed to be now, and God will place me where I am supposed to be in the future.  I have no doubt of that.  My heart is learning so much and hope it never ceases to hunger for that.  I know there is always so much to learn, because our brains cannot even fathom all that Christ is and has for us.

Anyways, that is what is going on on my side of the world!  I pray that your holiday season is filled with Joy from the Spirit and His presence.  I hope you are able to rejoice with friends and family.  I am praying for each one of you.  Thank you for all your support.


In His Love.

P.S. Please be praying for the city of Rome!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11992034