Getting "Normal"

I thought I'd throw in some pictures of "life" for us these days. No, we don't eat gelato on a daily basis, but the kids sure are excited that there's at least a possiblity for gelato every day. :) The second picture is a street near the center of town--Il Centro (pronounced "eel chentro"). It doesn't show the porticos that line Bologna, but it does look like a lot of the streets we see. The area we live in is a lot more residential and has a lot of big, beautiful trees. Bolognese call it The Green Area. Then there is our sweet Benjamin growing, growing, growing. He loves to stand up, is dying to actually be moving forward when he tries to crawl and is just about to get the sitting thing down. We can't believe he is already six months old. So much has happened in our lives during those six months!

Finally, there is a picture of something that is a daily part of our life--trips to a park. There are tons of parks located very close by. I guess since no one has a yard, they really value having parks available. We have tried out most we can quickly walk to, and this is our favorite. Every day after school (around 4:30), the parks are flooded. I think they are going to prove to be a great venue to meet people. Definitely a great opportunity for our kids to meet and play with other Italian bamini. The weather has been cool and mild for the most part, and the kids have relished time outside.

This week marks the first time I'm navigating life on my own with the kids since we arrived, as Cody is at a retreat for all the Campus Crusade staff (we call it Agape Italia) who are new to the country. It is going to be an incredibly infomative few days, and I wish we all could have gone. But it didn't seem prudent to take Hannah out of school the second week. So we're hanging back in Bologna.

Before Cody left, we talked about how we've reached a little milestone. . . we feel life we now know a new "normal." Life here takes a lot of work. Everything that is needed for daily living just requires a lot of time and work. It's amazing how many conveniences we enjoyed back in the States that we didn't even realize were conveniences. But we feel like we've made the shift. We're OK that we have to go to the grocery store every day, and that the trip usually takes about 1 1/2 hours. We're OK thinking creatively on how to haul our groceries for a family of five home. You don't get anything done quickly here, and we're adjusting. That's nice.

When it feels like the majority of my day is focused on just accomplishing what needs to be done to survive, I am so thankful that God has made even those things part of His work for me. In everything, I am reminded that it is all for the gospel. During the times I have absolutely not wanted to walk to the store for bread or milk or water, I am reminded that even that is for the gospel. Every morning I wake hungry for the Word of God to fill me. In a culture where I feel so foreign and inept, the power and truth of God's Word has nourished my soul in a way I haven't known for a long time. And during those times, God has so sweetly reminded me that the more Italian I can become (oh so FAR to go!), the more effectively I am going to be able to communicate the incredible hope and life that Jesus wants so desperately for this prodigal country to know. Every time I walk out our door, God opens the floodgates of compassion in my heart. I want to much for Italians to have HOPE. I want so much for them to know JOY. Life is so hard here, in so many ways. I want them to know rest.

And so it is that we are settling into normal and that in the normal, God is preparing us.

Thank you, Cortes (and school starts!)

Over the course of the past few months, multiple people have shared with the me (Cody) the story of Hernando Cortes and how he burned his ships in order to force his crew to embrace that there was no other option but to succeed. For Cortes and his crew, it was Mexico or bust. There was no going back.

In many ways over the past few weeks, I have felt like both Cortes and his surprised crew. While I knew that by selling our house, shipping our remaining possessions overseas, and enrolling our children in school we would be "sealing our fate" I have found myself occassionally fighting off the desire to somehow go back. Reagrdless of how much training one receives or how how ready one feels, immersing yourself in a completely foreign culture is taxing. While I am not sure where Cortes stood spiritually or from where he drew his strength, the Lord has bolstered me each time I've been tempted to look back. He has reminded me of Luke 9:62 where Jesus says, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

It is God's grace and mercy that keep us looking forward each day and today was a big one. Today was the day that I left my daughter in the hands of the Italian school system. Today was the day that I watched her begin interacting with other children that she could not understand. And today was the day that I saw my six year old daughter show more faith and courage than myself. My wife continually reminds me that God made Hannah to do this and she's right. Hannah is by far more coruageous than I was at six. Her teacher called her name and she didn't hesitate to join her new class and begin a new experience. Within seconds she had met another little girl and a few moments after that they we're holding hands communicating as best they could. While Jen and I know that God has called us to Italy to proclaim His glory and His love for the Italian people, He has also called Hannah to be a light for Him.

As we left Hannah this morning, it dawned on me yet again, that I has just witnessed another ship go down in flames, but understood that that was a good thing. This was a huge day for us.
And again God answered prayer so sweetly! When I picked her up this afternoon, she caught my eye and broke into a huge smile. She had had a great day! She sits next to a girl named Emma who speaks some English. This is huge! Emma helped her all day to manuever through her first day in total Italian submersion. She explained the games during recess, she helped her pick out lunch at the Mensa (the cafeteria), she even told her the Italian words for fork and spoon. She pursued Hannah, which was such a big deal.
This day really was the beginning of "life" in Italy for us. It really was us leaping into the culture and saying we wanted to fully be a part of it. We are so proud of Hannah. We hope God enables us to follow her lead.

Are you serious?

So, today was our first day of heading out to get something done and accomplishing absolutely nothing. Very common here. . . we just hadn't had the pleasure yet. Today's adventure involved trying to rent this great apartment we found. Great because it is compartatively large and yet, well within our budget. The staff we're working with here had found it at the end of July, and we had prayed it would still be available when we arrived. It was!

Renting an apartment in Italy is no easy task. And it costs A LOT. First, the agency that is renting the apartment required that we have an Italian bank account before we could even talk about renting. Many banks would not let us open an account with the current paperwork we have (we will literally wait for probably 6 months to get what most banks want). We found one that worked with us though, so we got that taken care of last week. So to actually commit to the apartment we have to provide the agency with this bank document that says we have SIX MONTHS rent set aside in a special fund that our landlord could access if we default on our payments. I can't begin to tell you how much money that is. . . it is the better portion of almost all of what we made on our house. Pretty much the only money we have, outside of daily expenses. The good news is that we heard that if you are required to put down more than three months, by Italian law you have to be paid interest. That sounded somewhat promising actually.

Then we went to the bank to get this document. Of course they couldn't do it right there. . . they needed the official contract from the rental agency. And then we found out that though your account earns a "very little" bit of interest (2.5%), the bank charges you an annual commission on the account that is the same as the interest you earn. Plus you pay taxes. We'll lose money every year. But that's how the system works. Anywhere else would want the same thing. Banking here is a exercise in throwing money out the window. You are allowed one deposit a month for free. Everytime you withdraw money, unless it's with an ATM, you are charged. And there are no guarantees on your ATM card, so it a little risky to just carry it around.

Oh my. We have tried really hard to just go with the flow up to this point. Today was the first day that we thought, "Are you kidding?" And in addition to all of that, we have to pay the agency a full month's rent as a Finder's Fee. Again, just the way things are. We are definitely feeling first-hand why the Italian economy is the worst in the EU. And why it is so much work just to survive. If we hadn't just sold our house, there is no way we could afford to rent an apartment. Praise God He knew exactly what we were going to need. And we feel like even though this "fund" isn't going to even return us what we initially put in it, it does guarantee we'll get our "deposit" back. If you don't set up a fund like this (it's completely up to the landlord as to how they want to handle it), then it can be difficult to get your deposit returned. That's really good with that much money involved. :)

In more encouraging news, I have a friend! Elli is who has been helping us figure the school thing out (and helped translate at the bank today). Her husband is the son of the pastor of the church we're partnering with. It's their apartment (the pastor and his wife's) that we're staying in temporarily, as we wait for our apartment. Anyway, Elli and Luke just had their first baby in May (Emma Violet). She has been a true Godsend in helping us understand many Italian processes. She is so sweet and just a delight. We've already bonded over our babies and other girl things. AND she is going to teach me how to cook some traditional Italian dishes! Yeah! How thankful I am for God's quick provision of a friend here. Earlier in the week, I had also met another Italian mom, whose daughter Anna is also starting school next week. Giovanna is her name, and she is not a believer. They just returned from 2 years in China but had also spent time in Singapore, so she speaks great English. We have a play date set for tomorrow.

At this point, you may be wondering why I put in a picture of Ben. . . just because he is so, so precious. Every day we delight in him. He continues to just go with the flow. And smile and flirt. He loves to just look you in the eye and grin and grin. He is such a sweet gift of rest for us. He makes us slow down and just be with him. That's a very good thing these days.

What a long blog! I'll close now. Ciao!

A Few More Pictures

The bedroom we're staying in. . . notice the sloped ceiling. It is the roof apartment, so the ceilings slant on both sides. That silver box in the middle of the window wall is the only airconditioner in the house. We run it right before we go to bed. Not super effective, but we're thankful for a little relief.

The next picture is the living room, with a balcony off it. It has a great view and a covered awning with an outdoor table.

The last picture is of the kitchen. Not a lot of room, but there is an American dishwasher.

We have been so thankful for the provision of temporary housing. Still, we are so looking forward to having our own bed (we haven't slept in it since May) and being surrounded by our own belongings.

The Missing Pictures

Officially Bolognese

Wow, we're really, really here! After never having been to Bologna, we are now officially residents. Two years of praying, planning and packing have finally come to fruition. It is still a little unbelievable to us. Every day brings with it a little more familiarity and a sense of belonging. I included some pictures so that you can see a little of what we're seeing. This first one is Hannah in Houston with all of our bags. Yes, 9 pieces of checked luggage. Plus a stroller, 2 computer bags, 3 backpacks, a diaper bag, 2 portable DVD players and 3 kids. Miraculous that we all arrived without losing anything (or anyone!). For that we praise God!
This second picture is the view from one side of the apartment we're staying in. It shows the city of Bologna. It is quite distinct with all the red roofs. The city center is beautiful with porticos covering beautiful wide walk ways. The area we're staying in now and hope to find an apartment in, is called "the green area." It has beautiful tree-lined streets.
The third picture is a shot from the other side of the apartment, toward the hills.
This last picture is from the balcony of our temporary housing, toward the building we hope to find an apartment. It's the red building behind the white one. Very close. So even though we won't be moving in until our stuff arrives mid-October (please pray for its safe arrival!), we are glad to be getting to know the area.

Our first week has been filled with getting all the paperwork we need to be legal immigrants (weird to say that!). Nothing is ever easy or straightforward (or consistent for that matter), so it's been a slow process. We finally got our permesso receipts and the equivilant of an Italian Social Security number, so things are opening up. This week we will hopefully open an Italian bank account and sign an lease on an apartment. School will start for Hannah next week.

Before we left, Cody asked several people to pray we would continue to walk in dependence on the Lord as we had in all the preparations leading up to us actually arriving. How quickly God answered that prayer. And it's not in the ways we had anticipated. It has been with our kids. Sending Hannah to school is SUCH A BIG DEAL for us! Obviously we have always tried to trust the Lord with our kids. But in a lot of respects, we've also been able to control their circumstances and do our best to protect them. We are clueless about what her experience is going to be like. We know that as well as we hope it goes, it is still going to be hard. It is an entirely new level of dependence for us to trust the Lord with a situation that could be rough for her socially and emotionally. The Lord is digging deeper and deeper into our hearts. We would love your prayers for both Hannah and us!

Every day seems to bring with us a little more comfort in that fact that we've just moved our family overseas. Our first few days (and nights) were filled with times of thinking that we'd just made a huge mistake. It is amazing how much lack of sleep can affect your emotional well-being. After a few days of rest this weekend, we are filled with thankfulness to be here. Walking down the street, sitting on the bus, we are reminded of how our hearts are heavy for the Italian people. . . they are so sad. It is so rare that we pass an Italian that looks happy. Life is hard for them, and they look it. They all just look so burdened. We want so much to be a light in their darkness. We want to help them to know true JOY.