Happy One Month!

Ciao tutti!

I have officially been in Roma for one month now!  It is insane to think I left ya'll a month ago, it seems so much longer.  But at the same time it seem as if this time has flown by!  God is doing mighty things here!  I have continued working with the refugees of different surrounding nations.  The hope these men have could be a lesson to us all.  It is incredible hearing their stories.  I met a young man the other day who had arrived 5 days earlier from Afghanistan.  He travelled from Afghanistan to Iran, then through Greece onto one of the terrible boat rides making it to Rome.  He attempted going to France (I believe it was) but they sent him back, because this is where he has been finger printed by the police.  He told me his hopes of traveling to Norway or Sweden but was having problems with paperwork.  He and his friend also told me terrible stories of what happened to men, women and children who were sent home to their home country and how they were punished.  I've heard stories of slavery and/or the cutting off of body parts, to serve as punishment for the people who fled for a  better life.  THESE PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING FOR HOPE.  It is terrible hearing these stories, but it is awesome seeing how God is planting seeds, and we are the ones who get to help do that!  So awesome!

Our team finally met with Marianna, the nun who worked with the women's center.  She is very well-known in the Somali community, which is a huge step.  She is nothing like I expected.  I have seen so many nuns in Rome, that are dressed in the classic black and white outfit.  But she is not like this at all.  She has a great personality and heart for Jesus.  It is awesome to see her and her four sisters working for the Kingdom.  We got to interact with her ministry this past weekend by gathering together with refugees, Italians, and everything in between; and watching the movie Patch Adams.  Now I saw this movie a long time ago, but watching it in Italian was definitely different.  But it was a great chance to meet refugees and spend time there in fellowship.  I met another student in college who is from Chile who is working with the women's center as well.  I am supposed to start working with her this week and traveling out to that area to spend time with the women.  Also, starting tomorrow I will be working with a couple of my roommates from Agape campus crusade.  I have a couple of free days, and I will be spending some time up there with them.  They (agape) has been able to build great relationships and be witnesses for Christ on campus.  I'm really excited to get involved in that as well!

Now that I've got you up on the stuff going on around me.  I would love to share a piece of my heart and mind with you.  There are some days that just seem insanely busy, and some that are not like that at all.  Praise God for that, and Him knowing that we need the rest!  I love finding my rest and strength in Him, and knowing it comes from Him.  I am currently reading the book, Journey of Desire, by John Etheridge.  I am just now beginning on it, but it speaks about how we all have desire within our hearts, and how we try and fill it.  How so many times, we are afraid to follow our desires because of the fear of getting hurt from past pursuits.  Etheridge claims that without desire our heart is dead.  I am realizing how true that is, not only in the world but in our walk with Christ.  God desires us whole-heartedly, always.  We as believers, should and hope to do the same.  I want above all else to have that desire fulfilled, and to know God wholly, and I cannot wait for that day.  It is coming sooner than we know :)  I am so excited.  And I love the fact that I am desired but God.  God has chosen us, not only to love, but He also chosen us to be vessels for Him.  We don't have to be a part of God's plan, but He knows our desires and desires us to serve Him.  YOU ARE THE DESIRE OF CHRIST.  Don't you ever forget that :)

I got to see the Colosseum and Pantheon this week.  Talk about breath-taking.  Standing in the Pantheon entry, Rachel tells me, "Can't you just imagine Paul standing here".  It is an absolutely awe-struckening experience.  A part of the body of Christ from thousands of years ago, one whose stories are written in the Bible, stood where I did.  On this same floor, next to this same pillar.  It was just like "dang God, you are so awesome".  And the Colosseum was a bit the same way.  The audio guide I had told me to look over the edge, saying "This is were Christians were killed for their faith".  It is insane to stand there, a large sense of grievance came over me.  Knowing how blessed I am, to stand firm in my faith today, and know that God is the Protector, we are not alone.  Both of those sites were just breath-taking to me.  God just spoke to me there; I just can't even think of more adjectives to describe it.

I hope all is well with each one of you reading this.  I have a prayer meeting in about an hour with my team.  I am excited to hear more news about what the next steps are.  We did receive word that Kyros, an italian non-profit organization, is backing us in our reading center plans; which is such an answer from God!  It is so awesome to hear that!  The next steps are fund-raising.  If you would like to give I will provide the information below!  Either way please be praying for that!  I cannot wait to continue to see God move!  I love and miss you all, and am praying for you and your hearts.  Seek Christ above all else, do not forget how much He desires you.

Information on giving to the building fund:

Go to the website: http://iteams.org/give/

And follow the same procedure for giving; here is information you will need!

Designate for: Rome Refugee Center

Account #: 80US2248

You may enter the account number, along with Rome Refugee Center, in the designation box.

Please enter this in correctly, if you decide to give financially!

Isaiah 43: 1-4

"But now, this is what the LORD says— 

   he who created you, Jacob, 

   he who formed you, Israel: 

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; 

   I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 

 When you pass through the waters, 

   I will be with you; 

and when you pass through the rivers, 

   they will not sweep over you. 

When you walk through the fire, 

   you will not be burned; 

   the flames will not set you ablaze. 

For I am the LORD your God, 

   the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; 

I give Egypt for your ransom, 

   Cush and Seba in your stead. 

Since you are precious and honored in my sight, 

   and because I love you, 

I will give people in exchange for you, 

   nations in exchange for your life."

Greater things are yet to come!

Hello!

I have been here almost a month now!  It is insane to think that!  I am so blessed to be a part of this ministry.  Just some notes from my last posting.  Joy (Gioia) is doing well!  She got out of the hospital about 4 days after she went in.  It was a very hectic time for the family, but they are doing well!  They (the doctors in Rome), do not think it is anything too pressing, but they are continuing to monitor her.  Thank you SO much for the prayers!  These past couple of weeks have been good!  The potential long-term couple has returned home and we have had one other visitor these past couple of weeks, all good company!  Our team is also now meeting once every two weeks for fellowship and prayer with each other.  During this time a couple people are sharing their testimony and we are praying specifically for them, as well as breaking off for each other personally.  It is great getting to know our team on a larger scale!  Our team has continued serving with the refugees.  Passing out lunches on Fridays, cooking and serving on Saturdays, as well as serving tea on Sundays to the refugees!  This past week, the other intern and myself went to an Italian church that our team members attend.  The message was awesome!  We also spent our Halloween observing it as the 500th year anniversary that Martin Luther came to Rome and left angered by how this holy city, was not following God's way at all.  It was and is a great reminder to me how we are to follow Christ in EVERYTHING, even if the city isn't.  I am called to be Christ-like despite everyone and everything else.  And not only that but I should want to, because of the love for my Savior.  He is so gracious to us, and sometimes it seems so easy to forget.  Yet looking at it, we don't even know when it happened.  But God forgives us, even when we stray.  HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD!  It is just so cool to think about, and just His love for us.  So overwhelming, we can't even imagine.  So many times we think we get it, and then it is still like a zillion times more than that.  God is good :)

I am quite excited for everything that is happening this week!  I am working on some school stuff for my internship (which isn't technically fun, but very beneficial!)  Our team is also meeting with the nun who runs the center for women and children refugees.  We will be seeing her center as well as just spending some time in fellowship with her.  All things to be very excited about!  Also, we have begun looking at the logistical side of having a refugee center.  I know this can sound boring, but it is very cool to be a part of.  We did have an informational meeting about refugees and serving with them.  We had many representatives of different churches and organizations that night, probably around 40-50 people!  How awesome is that?!  I have also decided to start working with a different tutor named Enzo.  I am hoping working with him will help  a lot.  I did struggle in the other class, and I kind of felt like I was holding others behind.  But I am learning, some days it seems that I am quickly learning other days I feel like I know nothing.  Haha, but that hasn't been too much of a barrier!  I love how God breaks barriers!

On a more personal side, I am seeing God move here.  I can see Him teaching me so much, and it is just overwhelmingly amazing.  I have been able to hang out with the refugees more, by playing (or watching rather) the refugees play soccer, and just spending some time with the "folks" here.  I am praying for continued health in our team, and for open hearts for everyone, team members and refugees alike.  Please pray alongside of me in this.   Thank you again for being a part of furthering God's Kingdom, not only here in Rome but also where you are.  I am praying and thanking God for you daily!

In His Love.

Due Settimane (2 weeks)

Ciao!  I have officially been here almost two weeks.  Things are continuing to go well!  The new intern got settled in quickly, and already knows where more places are than I do!  But it's a blessing, haha.  I am slowly starting to learn my way around, and am picking up on the language a little more.   Yes, I'm just as shocked as you are!  Haha.  It is SO much easier through immersion.

This past Thursday, potential long-term teammates arrived in Roma, to check out what all was going on here.  They have been through a lot and have been on the mission field for about 9 years now.  But God has moved them out of their mission location and they are looking to see where God would like them next! So please be praying for them!  It is great to see them interacting with the refugees.  They can speak their language and are able to hold serious conversations with them for hours.  Such a blessing they are!  This past week has still be a lot of settling in and different things like that.  I have started taking a second level Italian "course".  It isn't really a course, but Agape has hired an Italian tutor to teach us; there are 3 students total.  I"m still unsure about whether I should be in beginner class or the "advanced" it was review but still I haven't done it since March, and it made me want to bang my head against a wall.  Something cool though, I believe my tutor works with the women's center I am hoping to work with.  It is ran by a nun, so I'm not sure of the religious standings in that area.  But they work with women and children refugees.

This week has been very tiring for me, but so beneficial!  We have spent a lot of time speaking with other team members and just being able to "share life" with each other.  It has been great hearing the testimony of our visitors!  We attended to feeding again on Friday, and it went rather quickly, but relationships and familiarity is being built!  On Saturday God was definitely among us!  We went to help at an Italian church, in preparing for a feeding at lunch time.  The women in charge of this ministry cook a hot meal and disperse it in a specific area.  After fixing about 80 lunches we were off!  It was great being able to serve all the refugees!  This is also the first time I really had conversations with the refugees.  I met several people from Afghanistan and Pakistan.   I would say a huge prayer request would be friendships being set up.  As I learned from a missionary friend, many men from these countries do not speak to women in a casual setting such as this.  So it is very different, somewhat making things difficult.  But God is breaking barriers!  I saw it with my own eyes that day!  Also, that day, we went with Tim to look at another potential spot for the Reading Center.  The area was very close to where refugees could walk and was very spacious and cheaper!  It would be a great fit for what we are trying to set up!  God provides!  Please continue to pray!

Sunday, was a very hectic day.  Joy (Tim and Rachel's daughter) hit her head severely, she is currently in the hospital having tests done.  PLEASE BE PRAYING.  They say she is making everyone in the place laugh, which sounds totally like her!  We had a dinner on Sunday for the entire agape team we are apart of (about 15 people).  We had delicious soup, dip, and meatballs.  Not to mention incredible pumpkin tiramisu!  sooo good!  After the dinner we went to served to the refugees.  I was able to talk to a woman who works with church planting in Roma, and who will be attending the seminar on refugees we are having on Sunday.  It was a hectic day, but good bonding time as a team.

Prayer Requests

Joy's tests would come back normal

Comfort for Tim, Rachel, & Joy

Openness in the hearts and minds of the refugees

Continued learning progress with the italian language

The Reading Center building

Praise to God for the work HE is doing here

If you have any prayer requests, please let me know!

EVERY tribe, EVERY tongue, EVERY nation.

Ciao from Italia!

I have made it safely to Roma, Italia!  My flights went very smoothly, praise to God for that one!  I arrived here on the 14th of October.  My first obstacle, finding Tim at the airport, haha!  After about an hour of carrying my junk around, dropping it on escalators and moving walkways, and trying to use my phone, I found him... or he found me rather! Haha!  I am sorry to not have written these past couple of days, it has been somewhat hectic!  So I will try to do a replay of these last few days and then stay on top of this better!

Thursday- I arrived in Italy!  Tim met me at the airport, it took a train ride, subway ride, and bus ride to get to my apartment!  Once there I met all of my roomies: Meg, Beccs, Lauren and Crystal; I am actually sharing a room with Crystal.  They are all super sweet!  After changing Tim and I went to meet Rachel (Tim's wife) to get Joy (their daughter) from school, and grab some lunch.  We went to Zaza's for pizza.  I can already tell ordering food in Italian will be an interesting experience haha.  After having lunch at Tim & Rachel's I went back to the apartment to finish unpacking and fight jet lag.  I lasted until about 6 pm Rome time (11 am Memphis time), before I could no longer form correct sentences.  So I went to sleep and got woken up for dinner (fajitas made by the roomies!) and went back to sleep.

Friday-  Friday I woke up super early, because of my weird sleep pattern.  I was able to dive into the book, Redeeming Love, an incredible recommendation by Chris in Elgin.  At around 11 I met Tim and we went to meet people from his home church, who were on holiday here, and we went to my first feeding.  We handed out about 150+ sack lunches to homeless people.  We only served one woman, the rest were men.  I was able to meet the pastor of the church doing this outreach.  Their church is very international.  The services are given in English; the pastor is very Scottish, and the woman in charge of the feeding ministry is from Ghana.  They make about 500 lunches a week and hand them out on Thursdays and Fridays.  Afterwards we (Tim, the couple from his church, and I) went to check out the potential site for the Reading Center.  Please keep this site in your prayers!  It looks very up in the air on the location right now!  On the way home, we went searching all over the place for a bus pass, we tried getting my paperwork, and then I got out euros from the bank.  After all this I got home, and Lauren took me to the grocery store.  It was not too bad, something I can handle I think.  That night I met with Tim and Rachel for dinner, so that we could discuss the upcoming seminar they were speaking at.  The seminar was at Rome Baptist church in the piazza.  We discussed what evangelism meant and how to explain it to Italians, which led to the discussion of what the Gospel means.  Just some great stuff!

Saturday-  This day was quite an adventure.  I tried finding my way to the bus stop... I didn't make it, haha.  But thankfully I had a phone were I could call Rachel.  I finally made it to a bus stop and waited.  While sitting there I met a refugee from Nigeria, very nice guy.  We discussed his thoughts on how Rome just doesn't care and how he likes everything here.  It seemed very basic but was really cool to me :)  After meeting Rachel we left and went to a women's ministry gathering at their home church.  It was a bit difficult for me, but nothing to bad.  We watched a movie on Esther and discussed how we have seen God move in our life.  Thankfully I had Rachel there, because it was all in Italian.  But I met some very passionate women there!   One of which I will be working with on Saturday's and Sunday's!  After the movie and dinner, Rachel and I headed home.  It was just a good time on the bus ride home, I feel like we just got to talk, which I feel we hadn't got to do, and I got to hear more of her story.

Sunday-  Yesterday we went to Rome Baptist, or Roma di Battista, for church.  Tim and Rachel were able to borrow someone's car so they came and picked me up.  I have decided I am terrified of Italian drivers... they are NUTS!   We ended up late to service, but it was still a good sermon on peace and the beatitudes, which laid some ground work for  our seminar that afternoon.  It was a very different environment, the pastor was very soft-spoken something I am definitely not used to!  But the people were very friendly and open with visitors such as myself.   After church, we met up with Trinity (a girl I met from the women's event) and we all went to a restaurant called "La Baguette". I ordered for the first time in Italian!  But all I said was "lasagna" and pointed haha.  Their lasagna is very different here, not nearly as rich as the U.S.'s version.  Afterwards, we returned to the church for the seminar.  The population in attendance was mostly women.  I found out the person in charge of the food ministry there is a woman, which can be worrisome if difficult circumstances arise.  Tim and Rachel spoke on what evangelism means, which the crowd answered to.  One of the answers was the gospel.   So we got in groups and talked about what we thought the gospel meant.  The people in my group kept saying, it means good news.  So I tried breaking down, well yes but what IS the good news.  So we started discussing God's love.  Then we all got together and discussed the importance of the gospel and what it means.  We discussed how relational evangelizing is and different things like that.  Tim also discussed different safety tips, that I made note of for myself.   Afterwards I headed home for a few hours to rest before a feeding.  At around 8:15 Meg and myself left for the train station.  We met up with others and served hot tea to about 75+ refugees from different places, the ones I spoke to were from Iran and Afghanistan.  Just another awesome time!

So that is about it up to here, I would upload pictures but left my camera cord at home... so I will try my best to get it!

Prayer Requests:
Safe travel for the next arriving intern today
God's direction in what specific ministries to be involved in
The availability of the Reading Center
Openness of the hearts of the refugees and homeless individuals we encounter


In His Love.

Let me tell you how GREAT my God is!!!!

I haven't written in awhile, its been hectic in Memphis, TN for me.  I originally declined for my student that I needed to be able to "stay" in Italy.  I quickly started looking for how I could work around this.  The team leaders, Tim & Rachel Uthmann, and myself started brain storming for different ways to allow me to stay within in the time frame we had arranged.

This past Friday, I called the Italian consulate preparing myself to be completely frustrated with the woman on the other end of the telephone line.  I called and started talking about what was going on with my visa, saying I AT LEAST needed my passport so I could go for three months at least.  But the woman calmly asked for my name and looked up my information.  Her response was, "Oh yes, student passport?  You're approved.  We have spoken to the people in Italy, your request has been granted".  I was SPEECHLESS.  How great is our God?! I immediately began calling everyone and praising God for moving in such an awesome way!

Well, Tuesday afternoon rolled around, and I was sure my visa would be in the mail.  And it wasn't.  I was frustrated thinking "Well where the heck is it", "what do I do next?", and every question in between.  But Christ kept me calm through all of it.   My mom and I began calling, and the post office said to call in the morning to see if it had made it.

I got woken up this morning (Wednesday, Oct 13, the day of departure) by my mom telling me that my visa wasn't here.  So that meant I had to cancel my flight, and wait all over again.  So of course I did the most logical thing... just stayed in bed. (Ha!)   I then got a phone call from Don Gilbert, asking me about my trip and flight plans.  I decided to get up and see what "game plan" my mom had.  After trying to call the Italian Consulate, with no luck of an answer on the other of the wire, I just started getting ready like I planned on.  As soon as I got out of the shower, my mom said that she got a hold of the consulate but that it was not at the post office.  I asked once again, "so what should I do..."  My mom's response?  "Just get ready, and pray.  In fact, let's pray right now."  So my mom began praying, her prayer was literally this, "Lord, we know you know where the visa is"  JUST THEN, the phone rang.  It was the post office, they had found my visa!  It was 8:26.  We rushed to the post office and grabbed it then got to the airport.  How awesome is God!!!!!  He is the Great Provider!!!!!

God is just incredible!  I am currently sitting in the Charlotte, NC airport, waiting to board for Roma, Italia.  I will be boarding in twenty minutes!

Thanks to everyone for their prayers and support!  I love you all so much, and I am so glad you are apart of my sending team!

Psalm 46:10
      "Cease striving and know that I am God; I WILL be exalted among the nations, I WILL be exalted
       in the earth."


In His Love!

Home Again!

I have returned home, from Elgin!  I had a great week!  God really confirmed for me that International Teams is where I need to be.  The staff there was great and so helpful!  I only had one roommate, who was a blast!  Her name was Mary and she is working against human-trafficking in Grand Rapids, Michigan!  There was a group of about 25 of us in training.  There was a team going to Tunisia, a family going to Yemen, plus others going to places such as Greece, Bolivia, Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne, Turkey, and I think I've covered them all.

We were given a set amount of food to go grocery shopping with and had lunches together.   Our first night we had a progressive dinner.  This is when we start out in one apartment with one course, then move to a different apartment for each following course.  We had delicious salad, bread, spaghetti, and dessert.  The dessert was mine and Mary's job.  We made cupcakes and brownies, which appeared to be a huge hit. It was a great time of fellowship and learning.  A group of us ate with no hands for spaghetti, as practice for different types of culture! Haha!

Our classes each day started with devotionals and learning about different missionaries around the globe, as well as lessons on salvation throughout the bible.  We had cross-cultural communications each day as well as a variety of other topics!  The activities and lessons, I feel have definitely better equipped me for the mission field.

Also, Pat Tucker was a huge help in working with me in the visa situation!

Now, being back home I"m just working on getting my visa together to send off!

God is SO good!

On the Road!

Ciao!

After being in the car for 14 hours yesterday I am currently sitting in Chicago, IL.  My step-dad drove me and we made a stop in Franklin, TN to meet with a representative of the Italian consulate.  It surprisingly was in a home!  But it was a quick meeting, maybe 10 minutes long and that is including the wait time.  Leaving I was thinking, "We drove an extra few hours for this?"   But then I realized I am glad it didn't take any longer because then I would have been in on the road even longer!

I am now preparing to head to Elgin for training with International Teams.  I will be there for a week with other missionaries in training.  I am truly excited to see what God will do, what I will learn, and what He will reveal to me as well as my team!  Please be praying for openness in my heart and mind to learn, unity as a team as we learn together, and for Christ just to just bind satan back.  He has already tried getting a foothold but my God is bigger than that!

I will keep you updated as much as I can!

Oh! More great news!  I have been officially approved for a student loan for my trip!  If you would still like to give please do so!