Christmas Is Upon Us!

Today is the perfect week-before-Christmas day! We woke up to snow falling, and it has blanketed Bologna is white. Somehow snow makes the constant overcast skies a little more bearable! It is beautiful!

Cody and the kids left a little early this morning for their walk to school so they would have some time to play in our winter wonderland. They had the best time making little snowballs, running in the white, and giggling to keep warm. It was contagious! As the elderly Italians would pass them, they said, "Che bella sorpresa questa mattina! (A beautiful surprise this morning!)" It is only the second time our kids have ever seen snow, so they still just get tickled at the wonder of it.

Christmas begins for us in three days when my (Jen) parents and brother arrive for the holidays. We are so anxious to have family with us! So we've been busy with all our little Christmas preparations. We'll spend Christmas day in Bologna and then head up to Salzburg, Austria for a week. It is only about five hours away, and again, promises more snow! We all can not wait for our week of PLAY!

December 8 marks the beginning of Christmas celebrations for Italians, so there are now a plethora of markets and festivals going on. Last weekend there was a little market right across the street, so we took the kids to see Babbo Natale (Santa Claus). Bless him, but he was the worst Santa Cody or I had ever laid eyes on! The kids first question: "Mom, does he speak English?" And then their first response upon seeing him: "That's not the real Santa, you can see the string that's holding his beard on!" Just as we were about to say "Ciao" to Babbo Natale, he had to make a quick exit because his pants fell off. Oh Mamma Mia! After some quick explaining ("Santa has to have a lot of helpers during Christmas since he can't be everywhere all over the world at once"), the kids were quickly satisfied when Santa gave them both presents.

Also at the market were booths with great food. We picked up some cinnamon-roasted almonds (an Italian Christmas tradition), some spicy salami and some bread for dinner. What we had to say no to were the blocks of this fudge-type candy that lined a couple of the booths. We did try a few samples though. More than anything, I was just impressed with how fun and festive they looked all lined up!

We hope this finds everyone enjoying a truly blessed Christmas season! We are overwhelmed with the truth of God's love poured out for us in Him sending His Son to be born in our midst. He has changed our lives.

Gavin Turns Five!

So this one is mostly for the grandparents, but our little man turned five today. He could not have been more excited! We've been counting down the days from over 100. Finally it was THE DAY. He was up at 5:10 this morning wanting to know when he could open his presents. I had hoped to post a video we took, but alas, technology got the best of me. Instead, here are some photos.

This was in Cinque Terre on The Man Trip Cody and Gavin took this weekend. Gavin had a great time, despite the fact that the boats were closed down for the winter.

Gav broke with tradition this year and went with a SpiderMan themed birthday.

We ended a great day by dinner at McDonald's with friends.





Among those who joined us at McDonald's were another American boy (Drew on the left) and a couple of boys from Gavin's school. Yeah! What a huge milestone that was to have Italian friends join us!

Cody and I commented all day about what a difference there was between this year's birthday and last year's birthday. Not the least of which was Gavin speaking mostly in Italian at his McDonald's party! We are so thankful for God's sweet provision of friends for our shy little guy. It's taken a little longer, but Gavin is finding a great place here in Bologna.

What a great little man God has given us! We were thrilled to be celebrating him today!

Thanksgiving Times Two

Several people asked last week if we were going to celebrate Thanksgiving. Oh did we! Not just once but twice! Being overseas is a great excuse to celebrate an American holiday as many times as possible. :)

Obviously Italy does not take the day off on Thanksgiving, so the kids were in school until 4:30 and the rest of the country was whirling as usual. We did get the day off though, which we spent plucking our turkey and cooking it for our staff team, who all came over for a grand feast.

Though not entirely covered with feathers when we picked it up, there were still a lot that needed to be removed. Oh, and Cody also had to bust out a hammer and chisel to cut off its neck! So worth it though!

Turkey fillets are popular here, but you can only find whole turkeys at Christmas, and they are more the size of chickens. So we ordered one from our butcher. I think they were tickled to be providing a turkey for an American Thanksgiving celebration! Italians know what Thanksgiving is, and their constant impression is of a huge golden turkey being pulled from the oven.

At staff team, and several other American friends we know arrived at 7pm with almost every imagineable sidedish known. Thanksgiving is one of the events for which almost everyone I know imports some special ingredient needed to make a favorite American dish. We had green bean casserole, sweet potatoe casserole, pecan pie, and corn bread stuffing, among other things, none of which can you find the ingredients for in Italy. I can not tell you how good those American tastes were!!! Yum, yum, yum, yum!

To top it all off, we hooked our SlingBox up to our TV and watched American football during dinner. Truly, it felt like an honest-to-goodness American Thanksgiving. We all had such a great time.

And then on Saturday, we did it again! Our family went out to some friends of ours who are Americans working at Caterpillar just outside of Bologna. We have kids about the same and really enjoy hanging out together. Again, it was glorious. And so good for our kids! It was a great opportunity to talk about a key part of our country's history AND to talk about all we have to be thankful for.

A great Thanksgiving week, even in the midst of dearly missing celebrating the holiday with our families. We are so glad for how God provides, even in the seemingly little things.

The Chocolate Festival

Another bonus post! :)

While I was away (see the next post about My Happy Place), there was a huge chocolate festival held in Bologna. So on Saturday morning, Cody loaded up all three kids and went to see what it was all about. I thought that was an incredibly brave thing to do!

Among other things, they ate (drank?) liquid chocolate out of ice cream cones and sampled a few of their favorite chocolate designs. They really do look incredible. They got a camera for me (of course!), and then picked up a few other antique pieces. They were so impressive I had to take a picture.

My Happy Place

This is Lake Como. Thus far, in my 35 years of life, it is my very favorite place in all of the world. I am so glad God made it. I picture Him delighting in it every morning as the sun rises (and in the case of this picture, as the sun sets). It is about an hour and half train ride from Bologna (just east of Milan), and we hadn't been there since our Florence Summer Project trip three years ago.

This past weekend, I went there all by myself. I spent two nights staring at the water and mountains, taking a boat ride to Bellagio and exploring it for an afternoon, reading, praying, processing and just being refreshed. I slept until 8am for probably the first time in over two years.

I'll be honest and say the Lord is doing some hard things in our lives right now. He is digging deep into our hearts. It is infinitely good, and the other side is going to be an incredible experience of health. But the process is exhausting. And sometime painful. I had reached a place of feeling completely worn out. So my sweet husband made a way for me to have a retreat. I do not take his sacrifice lightly! It was a perfect weekend and exactly what I needed.

This is Bellagio. It's a small, quaint gem of a town.
It's set on some hills, so as soon as you get off the boat, you start walking UP.

Lake Como is one of three lakes in the "Lake Region." Como is the biggest city on the lake, but it is still pretty small. That is where I stayed. I loved being close to the lake! Water is one of the most relaxing things I know. Just watching it breathed refreshment into me. And to be surrounded by mountains at the same time! Como is only 15km from the Swiss border, and when it's clear, you can see the Swiss Alps. They are just incredible.

Can you believe this is real?! There were several places around the city where the ivy was changing color, and the colors were absolutely brilliant. I couldn't get enough pictures.

God met me in such a sweet way during my weekend away. I have never taken such a retreat, and I was a little nervous about investing the time and expense and returning in the same place I went. God did not let that happen. He really filled me up and spoke His rest to me. I am so thankful.

This is a street in Como. They had already begun hanging Christmas lights and putting up Christmas decorations--it was just beautiful (in Italian we say, "Che Bella!"). I loved that this street also included a red carpet!

Our Crazy Little Family

In an effort to take a Christmas photo, the troops ended a little restless. This is the best photo we have to offer! I keep waiting for a sunny day, but once November hits, they are few and far between.

I thought I'd share about our weekend. It was pretty typical, and shows a little more what our life is like. On Friday, we went over to Fabio and Alyssia's for dinner. They invited us "early" this time--7pm. We had the typical Italian meal. The first course was soup with homemade broth (a staple in most Italian cooking) and homemade pasta that were short little pieces about as thick as speghetti. The texture was similar to dumplings. So, so yummy. The second course was the shredded meat that came from making the broth, mixed with garlic, capers and yellow peppers. On the side were the potatoes and carrots also used to make the broth. Afterward, we opened some dessert wine and ate hot castagne (chestnuts), right off the stovetop. Castagne are everywhere right now and are a typical merenda (snack). Again, so yummy.

All was followed up by ripe clementines. The kids began melting down around 9:30, so we headed home. The highlight was Fabio's excitement over the Italian Bible Cody gave him. He had been thinking a lot about their conversation the previous week--even talking to his co-workers about it. Please keep praying for the time they will get together to begin talking about what he's read.

On Saturday morning, our tradition is to make homemade pancakes. Before importing syrup, we topped them with Nutella. We also recently discovered real American-style bacon, which is also greatly enjoyed with our pancakes. Afterward, the whole family spends the morning cleaning our apartment. This past Saturday, we went to our local McDonald's for lunch because we saw that Happy Meals are Star Wars themed right now. Such a little thing, but it's amazing how much fun that little treat was for the kids!

Saturday afternoon is spent working on homework for Hannah. Often her homework can take 3-4 hours. It's an event. This weekend, it wasn't too bad. That night we made homemade pizza and it was an early bedtime for the kids since we were out late the night before.

On Sunday morning, we have church together as a family in our home. Because of the lack of space available for protestant churches, our church here is not very family-friendly. So we have church at home and then Cody or I take turns walking the four blocks down to church to worship. This week at home church, we spent the majority of our time together writing a letter, color pictures and praying for the Compassion child we sponsor in Rwanda.

We finished homework in the afternoon and played the Wii a little. We got the Wii last winter when we were stuck inside for months. It has been so much fun for our entire family, and it provides a little exercise during the months when it rains for days on end.

Finally, we made cashew chicken (from a packet I imported) and egg rolls last night for dinner. Yum, yum, yum. We ended the weekend with extra reading before bed and an episode of Battlestar Gallatica for Cody and I after the kids were tucked in.

We turned in early, in preparation for a long week. A good weekend.

A Bonus Entry

I saw something this week I just had to blog about. . . if only I had had a picture!

Obviously pizza is big here. :) Usually, you order one pizza per person. They are about a foot in diameter, but the crust is really thin and toppings aren't very dense. They're always cooked in a wood-burning oven. Common pizza toppings include: sausage, prosciutto (ham), bell peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, and salami. You can also get toppings such as potatoes, sardines, egg, tuna, and hotdog.

Well, this week our team went to a new restaurant, where they offer a pizza for three. I've never seen this anywhere else. It was as big as any pizza I've ever seen in the States and it had a much, much thicker crust than the typical Italian pizza. It comes with buffalo mozzarella, garlic and cherry tomatoes, but you could add any topping you wished.

Upon leaving, we passed a table where they had ordered the pizza for three topped with hotdogs and french fries! Yes, hotdogs and french fries! And they weren't McDonald's fries either--we're talking huge steak fries (actually, our STINT gal from the Netherlands said they're Belgian Fries). Wow. Definitely a first. Can't say I'll be trying it any time soon. . . but I know where you can get it if you're interested!

Living the Gospel

There is not a day that goes by that I don't pray for our friends Fabio and Alyssia to put their faith in Christ. They have become so dear to us, and I want so much for them to understand how much God desires to have a personal relationship with them.

In the past month we haven't been able to hang out with them because of commitments Fabio had at work out of town. It's also been in the past month that Cody and I have been knee-deep in the hardest place we've ever been in personally. God is working so much out in our lives, but it's also just really, really hard.

This past week Cody has been fasting, and wouldn't you know they called to see if we could come to dinner. We said we'd have to hold off this time, but Hannah could come over to play with Alice. When Cody went to drop her off, Fabio was so concerned for him and for us. We had decided that we would share as openly as we were able with them, and use the opportunity to demonstrate to them how we're trusting God to provide true, lasting healing.

In what Cody shared, Fabio was really stunned at the depths of which Cody was going to hear from God. (Ironically, his words were, "You are such a good person for that doing this" . . . what a great opener to share how just the opposite is true, and that is why we so desperately need God!) The rest of the evening was filled with spiritual conversation and ended with Fabio wanting to read the Bible. He and Cody are going to get together this week to start talking about it. Praise God! We trust that God will speak mightily to him through His Word.

One of the central issues Fabio is struggling with is how the church (the Catholic Church) can know the motives of people's hearts, thus being able to declare them "good enough" for heaven or not. What a great question!

We also learned even more about the still continual influence of the Church. I had mentioned in a previous post about how they had just enrolled Alice in catechism. We were honestly shocked because we had never heard them talk about church before. We learned that parents feel "forced" to do catechism because of the ramifications for their kids when they grow up. For instance, one day if Alice wanted to get married in a religious service, she would have had to have gone through catechism.

Please continue to pray for this precious family! Please pray for the Holy Spirit to be working powerfully in their lives. Pray against the schemes of the enemy to distract them from pursuing God's truth. Pray for their eyes to be open to the God who wants to know them personally.

Our First Italian Road Trip

This past weekend was our first chance to take the car out on the open road and experience a "road trip" Italian style. Our annual Fall Staff Conference was held in Pomezia this year. Pomezia is a small town (almost a suburb) just south of Rome and is roughly 450km (280mi) from Bologna. So, we packed up the car like we've done in years past and headed out.

The first new experience for us is that almost all the major freeways (autostrade) in Italy are toll roads. So, from Bologna to Rome and back was roughly $65 just for tolls. Also, because the Autostrada is a closed system, there are only so many places you can pull off the road for food and gas. For Jen and I, these were noticable differences which required some adjustments, but for the kids it still boiled down to the unviersally asked question, "Are we there yet?" It's been a little over a year since our kids have "road-tripped" and have subsequently lost their roadtrip muscles. I don't think we had even left the Bologna area before Gavin began to verbally wonder when we'd arrive.

While the more famous German "Autobahn" is known for it's high-speed access, the Italian varient definately has limits very similiar to the States. 130km (80mph) is the max speed in most areas though it varies. But, unlike the States, there are very few stretches of straight road. For me, it's really a joy to actually "drive" versus pointing my hood in the right direction and setting the cruise control. For the rest of family, motion sickness is becoming a more common friend. :) The stretch from Bologna to Florence is very twisty and snakes through various mountains.

Once we arrived in Pomezia for the conference, our family had a great time. It is such blessing to gather with other missionaries and be encouraged by sharing stories of similiar experiences, hearing from the Word, and a enjoying a little downtime. This time is especially encouraging for our kids, as they get to play with their "American friends" for a few days. One afternoon is dedicated entirely to the kids, as all the staff put together a "Fall Carnival" full of games, food, music, candy, and fun. For Jen and I, it's a time to gain focus and encouragement as we move forward in ministry. We are only together with all the other Italian staff twice a year, but those times really are a breath of fresh air for us.

After receiving such rest and input, it was a huge blessing to be able to get back into our car and drive home, instead of taking a shuttle to the train station, occupying kids for a three hour train ride and then bussing back to our apartment. We actually arrived home not physically exhausted! We hope you enjoy the pictures!

Gavin went at a Knight but got transformed into Spiderman at the face painting booth.


Is he not the cutest little pirate you've ever seen?

The Parent Meeting at School

I wish I had some pictures of this event! But alas, that would have been obnoxious.

Last week was a parent meeting at Hannah's school. All of the parents came for a meeting led by her teachers (she has three), where they discuss the curriculum for the year, field trips they have planned and any issues they have concern about. Oh, and we elect a parent representative, who is then the go-between, between the parents and teachers.

So though we all know each other (Hannah stays with the same students and teachers throughout all five years of elementary school), the election of our parent representative had to follow strict protocol. Even though there was only one person who wanted the job, we each had to fill out a ballot, put all our identification information on it (i.e. our passport information) and put it in the voting box. Very official.

Last year I attended this meeting, but since we'd only been in the country one month, I quite frankly didn't understand a word that was said. This year, I understood a lot more. We did talk about the changes to their teaching style this year, but the majority of our time we talked about. . . you guessed it, food! Were the kids eating all their lunch? Were they eating their veggies too? Are they picky? Do they eat too fast? Can my child bring a toothbrush to use after lunch?

You know, sometimes it's been easy to look at the centrality of food in this culture and roll my eyes a bit (OK, a lot). But I confess that perhaps I'm becoming converted. Food is the venue for relationships. It is a great example of how Italians love to give their opinion. Food is common ground.

I knew this was changing in our lives when I suddenly became picky about the type of pasta I bought (only sun-dried--it allows sauce to cling better), when I began to discern what type of sauce goes on what shape of pasta (for instance, meat sauce is better on long pastas like spaghetti or linguine and pesto is great on farfalle but not penne), and when Cody suddenly decided we could no longer use Grana Padana to top our pastas with, only Reggiano Parmigiano. Yep, we're Italian foodies now.

So getting back to the parent meeting, we again have to thank God for just how incredibly He answered so many prayers for Hannah and her school situation. We think her teachers are great. They think Hannah is great. Hannah, in less than one year, is fully fluent in the language. Italians can not tell she is not a native speaker. Praise God! School has also proven to be our best venue for developing relationships in which to share the gospel. The parents are a pretty close group, since we're all together for the next five years. We're so thankful for the in-roads God's provided.

As I left this meeting, I thought, "Wow, what a normal thing to do." Granted, we probably wouldn't spend near the amount of time we did talking about food at a meeting in America, but we wouldn't have had a meeting like this in America. I love the community-based culture of Italy. And we're fully participating in it. God shows me daily just how much He has done in the past 13 months.

A Mommy/Ben trip

Last week Ben and I took a trip to Leiden, Holland ( just south of Amersterdam) to be with some friends from Houston who moved to the Netherlands last April as missionaries and had their third baby a couple of weeks ago. They obviously don't have family around, so we felt like it was a great chance to go serve them during this really precious time in their family's life.

It was a great trip all around! It was quite the adventure. We flew Ryan Air, since that was really the only way we could afford to make the trip happen. What a deal though! We both flew round trip for 50 Euro total. It did make it a bit more exciting though. We had to fly into Brussels, take a shuttle from the airport to the train station and then take a train from there into Leiden, with a train change at The Haag.

Ben did such a great job traveling. It was so fun for me to have five days to hang out with just him! As the youngest, he hasn't had that opportunity much. And the friends we went to visit have a little boy that is only a month older than Ben. It was a new experience for him to play with someone his own age. Mostly it was a ton of fun. Of course, they definitely had their moments. . . :)

(Ben with Whit and Annabelle--baby Elijah was snuggled in his stroller)

Here are a couple of pictures around Leiden. The Netherlands were just beautiful. I loved the water everywhere. When we were there trees were just hinting at starting to change color. Right in the middle of Leiden is this windmill, which I thought was awesome. One day, I was walking with the boys down a bike trail/sidewalk (the bike culture in the Netherlands is a story worthy of a whole other blog entry in and of itself!), when we passed a man in his 30's, dressed for the office, walking in wooden clogs. Our friends have assured us in the six months they've lived there they have never seen anyone wearing clogs. . . it was a priceless moment I wish I could have gotten a picture of!

This other picture is from one of the many bridges in the city showing the canals that run all over the country. The city is full of them. They add such a lovely backdrop to daily life. Though I hear a lot of cars end up in them by having to park right next to the water.

One of my questions about the Netherlands was "what exactly is Dutch food?" The answer is that there isn't much. Mostly they eat every other ethnicities' food. I came back with a ton of great asian spices! But one night we went to an authentic Dutch restaurant that I think has been around for something like 100 years. What do they serve? Pancakes. It was awesome! I had a pancake that was probably 18 inches in diameter that had bacon, mushroom, onion and cheese in it. It was very thin, but slightly different than a crepe. Ben had an apple, sugar and cinnamon pancake. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

It was a great week. Great to hang out with Ben alone for such an extended period of time. Great to get to love on our friends at such a sweet time in their lives. Great to just be with such like-minded friends on such a similar adventure as ours. It was a deeply refreshing trip.

A Guest Writer

Last week Jim and Linda Allen flew in from the States to join our team for a week of prayerwalking around the city, in preparation for the launching of our ministry this week. It was an incredible, if challenged, time. I asked them if they would write about their impressions of Bologna and Italy for the Blog, so that you could read about an "outsider's" perspective. This is what they shared:

The last week of September we had the privilege of joining Cody and Jen in Bologna to pray for Italy in general, and for the university students in particular. It was a daunting task to “stand in the gap” for so many people – what can a few people say to an Almighty God that would actually make a difference for a whole country? Yet He tells us to call to Him, and He will answer us, and tell us great and mighty things we do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3)

We got to see that God is at work in Italy. He has burdened the hearts of two small evangelical churches in Bologna to pray for an outreach to the university students. In answer to that, He is clearly calling workers to go there to share the gospel – the Phipps family being one example of that.

Being in Italy helped us to understand the context in which Cody and Jen are working. It is a different culture to which they must adapt in order to build the social networks necessary for communicating spiritual truths. It’s a culture with a tradition of religion that doesn’t promote the gospel of grace. And, like in much of the world, there is a focus on materialism and humanism that ignores the need for a deeper life. These are the obvious obstacles that Cody and Jen face daily in their ministry. However, the greatest and often less obvious obstacle is spiritual attack from Satan. We experienced it in the short time we were there. Of a team of 8 people, 5 were unable to join the prayer walks for most of the week because of health problems they encountered. What an affirmation that prayer for Italy is vital – it’s threatening the enemy’s territory! Our discussions with Cody and Jen reaffirmed this fact. Missionaries on foreign soil deeply need prayer and encouragement from the body of Christ.

On another note, our trip to Italy had personal significance for me, Linda. My father was in Italy during World War II. He participated in the campaign that brought liberation to the Italians. Understandably, it was a grievous experience for him – one that affected him emotionally and spiritually for life. Over the years I heard so many of his war stories and descriptions of Italy that I suppose I adopted some of his grief. As a result, I never had a desire to visit Italy. So what does the Lord do? He sends us to Italy! Even though we didn’t visit the specific sites Daddy did, I sensed a significance in just being in the same country. Part of it was that my bias against Italy was dispelled. But also, the Lord has been showing me a bigger picture: He is at work to complete what the Allied army began over 60 years ago. They brought military and political liberation to Italy; now God is working to bring true, lasting spiritual freedom. Daddy’s grief is rendered powerless and I am allowed the privilege of being, through my prayers, part of God’s redemptive plan for Italy!

Often we can feel so overwhelmed not only by the task at hand but by the opposition we encounter relentlessly. During our week of prayer, I was reminded often of the verse in Matthew where Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God "forcefully advancing." I pictured that happening tangibly that week. It brought countless blessing and encouragement to our whole team.

The Sloppy Joe Experiment

Last night we had Fabio and Alyssia over, our Italian friends I have written about several times. God continues to bring our families closer together, and we are so thankful! Even through horribly butchered Italian (we tried to explain that phrase to them last night--"butchering a language"), we just have a great time hanging out together. They are so incredibly gracious to us. And I think they like hanging out with us too!

The first time we had dinner with them was at their home, and it was the full five-course Italian feast (incredible seafood--I blogged about it). When they first came to our home we fixed Fajitas and apple pie. Fajitas were a completely new experience, and they weren't quite sure what to make of them, though Fabio ate five of them. Apple pie they loved. Our dinner last night was kind of spur of the moment, so I went with what I was going to make before they were coming--Sloppy Joes. I felt like it was a pretty authentic "American" classic. Though we committed a major taboo by not serving any wine (red or white with Sloppy Joes?), they LOVED them.

I also served cut up veggies with Ranch dressing (dipping is also a completely new idea. . . one I think they enjoyed once they got into it) and chips. I took of a picture of the chips I got. Though you can find Kettle chips in America, you definitely can't find Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar flavor! An Italian spin on an American icon.


We have had several opportunities to talk about issues of faith with Fabio and Alyssia, but we haven't had that chance recently. Fabio usually seems pretty indifferent, and Alyssia comes across as slightly abrassive. We really hoped to talk more last night about what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. We were blown away when Cody's simply asked, "So what's new?" and Alyssia shared that Alice was getting ready to start Catechism classes. Their family does not attened Mass regularly, so we were pretty shocked! It opened up such great conversation! They asked us so many questions about the differences between Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity. . . we really got to share a lot of our heart and why we want to get to know a God who desires a personal relationship with us.

Please pray for these precious friends of ours! We know it is a long process for Italians to come to faith. We delight we get to share our lives with this family and love that we are already able to share so openly about the Lord. We are beginning to pray that as Alice starts learning about the tenets of Catholicism, God would start working in Fabio and Alyssia's hearts to getting them questioning their beliefs too. We're praying they would frequently initiate conversation about the spiritual issues they're thinking about. We would covet your prayers for these things too.

We do not take the occurance of this friendship lightly. God knows our greatest need in the past year has been organic friendships. He has provided so graciously. It is such a privilege to be able to care so much for these friends and offer to them the incredible love of the Savior.

Sweet Rest

Since returning from our vacation to Scotland over a month ago, it seems we have had one thing after another that has kept us unable to update our blog. The kids started school this week, which we feel like has finally given us opportunity to catch up on a lot of things. Returning to regular blogging is one of them.

It feels impossible to communicate what a sweet time we had in Scotland. It was everything we needed. We knew going into it that we needed some serious family downtime. The heat had gotten oppresive in Bologna and we were feeling overall worn down. We flew out of Bologna with great expectations, but also with a bit of guardedness. It didn't take but drive from the airport in Edinburgh to Troon to realize how good this time was going to be. There was a very physical sense of relief and relaxation. From the green rolling hills of southern Scotland to the familiar "American" products at the grocery store, we were met at every turn with surprise and joy. Most of our time was split between touring old castles and simply resting. It was such a good thing for us as a family to be able to spend the days focused on spending time as a family and having fun. Many games of Uno were played while there. And while the kids are essentially fluent in Italian, it was a nice rest for us to be able to converse in English for awhile. It was amazing how quickly we got simple daily activities done when we could completely understand what someone was saying!

Our return to Bologna at the beginning of August was like returning to a ghost town. It was so weird! We felt like we were literally the only people in our entire apartment building. Everyone was at the beach. . . a serious pasttime for Italians, who believe you need two weeks of sun every year to get enough vitamin D. And August is the best time to do it.

Life finally feels like it is returning to normal, and we think the heat has finally broken. We are looking forward to so many things this Fall. We are so thankful for the genuine rest the Lord provided for us, at just the right time. Because of it, we feel like we're ready to tackle all that is in store. We can't wait to share more.

Stinky, the Gospel and a Car

We are leaving for vacation on Thursday, so we thought we'd post an extra blog this week since we won't be able to post one again until August. We'd love your prayers for our time away. . .

BIG week this week! In the middle of the summer, when students are blissfully away enjoying their summer vacation, we saw God remind us almost daily of the incredible ministry He has built for us here through some other means. We lived some great stories this week of the awesome and sometimes maddening Italian culture, the incredible generosity of Italians friends, the realities of the snares of a broken world and God's constant provision for every one of our needs. The ministry we are living is incredible!

For a couple of months now, we have felt the Lord leading us to finally buy a car. As we looked at it logically, we just didn't think the summer was the best time, since many places close down for weeks at a time in the summer, and the ever-constant issue of the exchange rate has been on the higher side since May. We pursued a couple of options to buy cars from American servicemen returning to the States, but none worked out. We didn't feel in a big rush, but we also felt like the Lord was continuing to say, "It's OK, I'll provide for you now." So we asked more questions and looked at a few websites that were recommended to us. We saw a few possibilities, but all required driving at least an hour outside of Bologna.

Some of our best Italian friends are a couple named Fabio and Alyssia. They are the parents of one of the girls in Hannah's class. We have gotten to know them well over the past months and enjoy them so much. Fabio speaks a little English, which makes our time together a perfect setting for language development. More than anything though, they have just become quite dear to us.

So last Thursday, Fabio offered to take Cody out to look at cars. The car we felt like was the best deal all around was also the closest. They drove the hour up to Modena and saw the car. Car buying is totally different here than in the States. All dealerships must offer a one-year warrenty on the used cars they sell since the practice of turning back odometers is almost universal. Since you have some assurance as to the reliability of the car, you don't really "check it out" like you do in the States. He didn't even test drive it. But it really was everything we've been looking for (and an automatic, as a cherry on top). Cody felt like we should get it. Mission accomplished, so he and Fabio went to get some lunch.

As they went in to a trattoria, Fabio said, "Have you ever had stincho (stink-oh)?" To which Cody said, "No, no I haven't." "Oh, you must try it. It is the ankle of a pig." Always the meat lover, Cody thought he'd give it a try. Fabio ordered for both of them, and in Italian, he ordered "due stinchi (pronounced stinky)." Cody could not help busting out laughing, as he explained to Fabio what it sounded like in English. When the stinchi arrived, it was much like a turkey drumstick--see the picture below. Cody is now a new stinchi fan. :)

Over their lunch, the Lord led their conversation to really significant things. Cody has been very intentional about going deeper with Fabio, taking many opportunities to share about his relationship with Christ. On this day, he was able to clearly share the entire gospel. Coming to faith is usually a very long process for an Italian. This was a great entry into what we pray are many more conversations about what it means to be a follower of Christ. We hope so much that the Lord would open the eyes of this entire family. We pray earnestly that He would allow us to see them all eventually put their faith in Christ. Again, they have become so dear to us, we want nothing more than to share with them the joy of trusting God as they manuever life as a growing family. We would really value your prayers for them. Pray we would continue to have bountiful opportunities to talk about what having a relationship with Jesus has meant in our lives.

So after lunch, they headed back to Bologna, and we gathered ALL the necessary paperwork needed to buy a car here. On Friday we made the trek back to Modena, filled out all the forms to transfer the car into our name and personally went to the auto agency to make it all official. With keys in hand, we then discovered our method of payment wasn't going to work. We had asked about it before we made the trip, and they gave us the OK. But to make a long story short, we ended back in Bologna that night without a car. We have to admit, we're beginning to get used to having to attempt something several times before it's accomplished. . . sometimes still maddening, but the blows are becoming less and less traumatic.

We are thrilled to report that our third trip to Modena proved to be a charm, and we are now, once again, car owners. It's perfect for us. We are still a little in shock, but we are so, so thankful. Again, we rejoice in God's provision for us and hope it enables us to be an even further blessing to those around us.

As we have seen God so evidently at work around us in these fun stories, we also have seen Him at work in the life of a friend who is in great struggle. We have been called to meet him in a very different place than our other friends here. With him, we have been called to walk through the darkness--to offer some light in territory surrounded by the enemy. It has been a privilege, though one not without cost and not without much grieving of our spirits. We know God has him securely, and we are praying for a prodigal to return home soon and receive great healing. Though we can't offer many details, we ask you again to intercede on his behalf. A mighty war is being fought for this soul.

The next six weeks are going to fly by, and then September 1 will arrive, and we will celebrate with great thanksgiving our first year in Italy. What a time it has been! The past week has been a great confirmation of God's continued plans for us here. It is good.

A Life Lesson

This morning I sat down for a quiet time feeling that even though I had been spending regular time with the Lord, I have been distracted for the past several weeks. It was one of those times when I just had to say, "What should I read this morning? I'm not really feeling led to anything. . ." I picked up where I left off in my study of Matthew. I was at Matthew 7:24-29 and the story of the man who builds his house on the rock.

As I read it, I began to see it was the very picture of the life lesson we've been experiencing over the past few months. Jesus says, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, and the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." Over the past eleven months, God has been allowing us to live in almost constant view of the spiritual world. He has shown us the realities of what He is doing--how He is ushering in His Kingdom and how worthy His name is for all glory and honor. I have been craving praise and worship music because of my overwhelming need to ascribe glory and honor to our God.

As I read this passage in Matthew, I think that it does mean we need to obey God's commands for us. But the deeper underlying issue, as it is throughout Scripture, is faith. We need to take God at His Word. We need to believe Him. Belief goes so much farther beyond just doing as God has commanded. It involves trusting that God is also going to do as He said He would. He does protect us. He does provide for us. He does guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. He calms my anxious heart, strengthens my weary soul. He is JOY. The security of the truth of who God is and the peace He offers believers is truly one that reaches beyond the understanding of anyone who has not personally experienced it.

And as the rain has come, as the streams have risen, as we have felt the power of the wind blowing and beating against us, our house has not fallen. Our foundation has not moved. We have felt so beat up in the past two months. Discouragement beyond anything we have ever experienced. But we are continuing to stand. The words of God proved themselves true in us. We survive the storm because of the Rock that is our foundation.

I also see the reality of the foolish man too. Our hearts have been so burdened for so many friends we have seen building their houses on foundations of self-reliance--even believing friends. As the sand begins to sink, the pressure on the house only grows stronger. The house can stand for awhile, but eventually, the strain becomes too much, and the house crumbles. How much we want to be encouraging others in belief! How much we want to shout from the rooftops "Worthy is the One whose hands made it all!"

The Lord sent deep encouragement this morning. Encouragement, again, that His Word is true. If you believe Him at His Word, it always works out as He has said. Encouragement, as well, that as trying as life in Italy can feel sometimes, we will come out standing. We will make it. And of even greater encouragement, the gospel will go forth. The name of Jesus will be honored in this land.

Sweet Tree Hugger

These pictures were just so funny I had to blog them. There is a sitting park just behind our house that has a small "hill" Ben was bound and determined to climb. The slope kept getting the best of him, but he'd just get right back up and keep trying. Finally, he made it to the top, and in exuberance, hugged the nearest thing to him--a tree. :) Oh, our sweet little guy.

Benjamin definitely keeps us on our toes. There is no end to what he will get into. I'll spare you the list of all the things we've caught in his mouth, because it's. . . well, downright embarrassing. He is such an explorer. Mom's guess at fifteen months of future occupation is engineer, just like the Papa he's named after. He LOVES to take things apart and then put them back together. Taking the lid off a pen and putting it back on could entertain him for hours. Of course, that also includes taking lids off of shampoo bottles (sometimes with them upside down) and unplugging/re-plugging electrical devices too.

A couple of weeks ago, Cody aptly called him "A tornado filled with the joy of the Lord." Though he is learning to protest quite effectively when he doesn't get his way, Benjamin is the happiest, bubbliest little guy. He loves to laugh (especially when prompted by his sister) and try to make you laugh. His smile, and that darn perfect dimple, light up a room.

In other news, we feel like we've officially entered the "dog days of summer." We're not sure what that expression actually means, but we feel like it has to do with being so hot that all you can do is lie around. We've been really blessed by several cool spells to provide some relief in between those days when you can't leave your house it's so hot. We feel like those respites are probably over now. This week it will be in the mid to upper 90s all week. Again, we are so thankful for our jerry-rigged air conditioner.

We will leave a week from Thursday for our two week vacation in Scotland. My uncle has a home there he is so graciously allowing us to stay in. It will be our first flying experience with Ryan Air, the uber-cheap airline that is now debating selling "standing-room only" tickets. We can't express how much we're looking forward to vacation though. We need a break from the oppressive spiritual environment here desperately. We need to refill our tanks that are now bone dry.

Until then, we press on with summer school supplementing. Hannah is really enjoying the history but abhors having to work on English. She's looking forward to a vacation too. :)

The Work of Heat Relief

As we've mentioned before, it is very uncommon in Italy to have any kind of permanently installed A/C in your apartment, so for the past month and half, we've been working on acquiring a portable unit and then figuring out how to get it to work where we need it. We had saved some money for this purchase, and were crushed (CRUSHED) on the hot day we eagerly plugged it in for the first time only to have it blow all of our electrical circuits. To make a LONG story short, it look five weeks to get our electric company to raise the electricity allotted to us--yes, you only get a 3000 watt allotment unless you agree to pay a hefty fee for them to raise it AND agree to pay more for usage. Once we finally got that taken care of, the unit still killed our circuits. The problem this time. . . old wiring that couldn't handle the wattage needed to start the condensor.

After trying every last option, we finally found some success. Crazy, Italian-style success, but we praise the Lord for it anyway! Cody shares the story of the journey to air conditioned relief:



"What the heck am I lookinig at?" I'm sure that is what you are asking yourself right now. Well, now that the summer months are in full swing, we've officially completed our jury-rigged, duct tape and bailing wire A/C unit. This picture is where the cold air begins it's journey. Some of you may know that electrical wall outlets are not standard in Italy. There are three different Italian sizes and wattages, and just for fun, there is a random German outlet that shows up from time to time. Trying to match plugs, extenstions, adapters, and outlets is a national past time here. At any rate, this is one of two outlets in our home that has wiring strong enought to handle the current of our A/C unit when the condensor kicks in. Otherwise we blow the circuits. Fun times!


Unfortunately, this outlet is in the kids' bathroom. Also where our washer and dryer are plugged in. So, we had a specially-made 15 meter extension cord made that has all the right adapter sizes and is rated up to 3000 watts. Depending on what room we want to cool down, we have to run the extension cord through the house to the A/C unit. This particular picture shows the cord running to our living room. For that to happen, it must travel down the length of our hallway, past the entryway, and into our living room.


Once the cord enters the living roon, we run it along the wall behind our dining room table so the kids don't trip over it and do any major bodily damage. In order to do this, we pull out the table, thread the cord behind it, run it around the crafts cabinet in the corner until it arrives at our portable A/C unit.


Now comes the fun part. Once we wheel the A/C unit into a certain room, we have to roll it over to the nearest window and vent the hot air that is produced. Because our windows swing open instead of slide up and down, there is no way to get a great seal. So, we keep the window open, but slide down the "tapperella" (the heavy duty black-out shade) to mate with the A/C vent tube. By and large this works pretty well. We're in the process of getting a piece of particle board cut to complete the seal. Once all of that is done, we plug her in, and get her fired up. It takes a few minutes for the compressor to kick in, but once it does, it really makes a difference.

As you can only imagine, it's gotta be really hot in order for us to feel motivated enough to set all this up. But believe us when we say there have been plenty of days we have joyfully done it for a little relief from the heat.

Another insight into daily life in Bologna. :)

Success!

As I was watering our little balcony garden tonight, I thought, "Wow, these are looking great!" As much as I love flowers, I always end up killing them. Yeah for this little victory! Since we posted about planting them, I thought it was only right to let you see them thriving. . .

Compared to our neighbors' balconies, they are a small contribution to building beautification. But in their own right, I think they are simply lovely. Hannah has done a great job helping me water them, and Ben has done a great job picking the petals off the blooms. Next year, we might try doing two boxes. :)

Latte Art

Every Wednesday morning before school, Hannah and Cody would stop at a bar (that's what they call coffee shops here) to get a little pastry and milk (latte caldo). Our whole family quickly became known at this little bar, and as is often the case in Italy, the baristas welcomed us into their family with open arms. They loved the kids, especially with Hannah going to public school and learning Italian. Every time we walk in, we're greeted with, "Ciao! Hannah!! Ciao Bella!" It's been a really fun way for Hannah to feel like she's building bridges outside of her school.

Anyway, as the year progressed, Salvatore (the head barista, who also speaks some English) practiced making all sorts of beautiful designs on Hannah's warmed milk. It is a little game to see if she can guess what he will surprise her with. The last week of school, he did some of his finest work! Cody was so impressed, he had to take a picture (Italian doesn't have the "H" sound, so everyone pronounces Hannah's name "Anna"). Then the next week when they went, Lucia, the sweet woman who works there and who always gives Hannah a piece of candy before she leaves, made Hannah's milk with the Hello Kitty design (Hello Kitty is really big among Italians). You can only imagine how it delighted Hannah.

We have to confess that the coffee culture is one of our favorite parts about Italian life. There is such incredible community that happens at your "bar." It's a great place to practice Italian and a great place to just hang out and hear what the locals are talking about. It's definitely been a very fun treat for us to feel so welcomed at our little bar by Hannah's school. The regulars there have contributed in countless ways to Hannah's (really our whole family's) transition. They helped us early on feel like we belonged and that were people who knew us.

In displaying these works of Latte Art, we have to share that they are not the norm. We don't know of any other bar in town that adds such pizzaz to their coffee (or frothed milk in Hannah's case). In fact, not even everyone at our bar gets such latte love. So we celebrate the incredible graciousness that these sweet baristas have poured out on our family. Oh, and have we mentioned that they also make one of the meanest espressos in town?

A Huge Milestone

Since we posted pictures of Hannah's first day of school NINE months ago, we thought it a fitting altar stone to post pictures of her last day.

God has so abundantly and lavishly answered so many prayers for Hannah this year! In all honesty, she has probably transitioned and inculturated better than anyone else. We prayed for her to have an English-speaking teacher, and she had one whose father is American. We prayed for her to pick up the language quickly. She is completely age-level fluent. (Her Italian is beautiful!) We prayed for God to provide her with some good friends. He has. Several. She has thrived in school--she has been appropriately challenged, where she wasn't as much in the States. It's been incredible what she's learned this year, and even more amazing that she learned it all in another language. In fact, our greatest concern now is keeping up with teaching her the English words for many of the things she's learned about (for example: parts of a tree, the names of the classes of animals, internal body parts, etc).
We can only look back in awe over the past nine months. We so clearly remember that first day of school and all of our fears and concerns. Cody and I will never forget that day! Nor will we forget how sweetly the Lord has cared for our daughter this year. We are privileged to have witnessed it.
In Italy, you remain with the same students and the same teachers (Hannah had four this year) for your entire five years in Elementary School. There have been some recent changes in the school laws that might dictate a new teacher next year (one instead of four), but we feel like her class has become a great family. It's fun to think of that already existing when she returns to school next September.

Until then, it's officially Summer Vacation (Gavin's preschool will actually go until mid-July though). We let Hannah have a day to do whatever she wanted on Friday, to celebrate all her hard work this year. She choose to stay in bed and watch movies all day! On Monday we will begin homeschooling in the areas she needs to stay up with for American schools. Spelling is going to be a huge hurdle. Italian is a completely phonetical language, so spelling is very easy. Hannah's found spelling in English to be a much greater challenge now--in fact, she often uses Italian spelling for English words. We'll also be doing some history and lots of reading. We'll confess our reluctance at first, but we're hoping for a great summer together. We're also really looking forward to a little vacation at the end of July.

Thanks for all your concern for Hannah this year! Thanks for all your prayers on her behalf. We hope you join with us in acknowledging God's gracious hand.