An Italian Perspective

November will mark a huge milestone for the Agape Italia ministry.  An Italian national will be taking over leadership of our National Ministry.  Ultimately, this is our desire for every country we send American staff too--that eventually it will be a Nationally-run ministry.

Franco Bosio is one of only four Italians currently on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ in Italy.  He has been directing the Family Life ministry up to this poine and seeing God move in some incredible ways.  He will now be providing leadership to our ministry as a whole, and we are so excited to see how God is going to use him to help make Agape Italia even more effective.

Below is a video clip of Franco sharing a little of his vision.  Again, we rejoice in the incredible ways God is at work in Italy.  Truly, it is a privilege to be ministering there during this time.

The Downside of a Calling

As I write this, I am in tears. Every bone in my body is literally aching to return to Bologna tomorrow. There is so much that stands in my way, and I am grieving it. I don't long to return to be comfortable (it's not), I don't long to return to escape the process of raising the support we need to return (I LOVE sharing what God is doing in Italy). I am longing because for some crazy reason, God has written Italy on my heart and I cannot be free of it.

It is a gift to be so sure of our calling. When we are enduring the Questura or literally melting from the heat, we can press on knowing God has some very specific plans. And the steps of faith we have to take every day feel a little less scary knowing that He will finish what He has begun.

But the downside is the incredible ache we feel to be doing what it is God has called us to do. I long for the people and the conversations and opportunity to talk about Jesus with so many who want to and know nobody to do so with. I long for, yearn after, want with every fiber of my being to be in the place where God has called us. It is permanently a piece of me.

We have shared how thankful we are for this furlough God has provided for us to get some rest before returning. We really are. And He is providing that rest. As we soak it up, and our energy returns, we find ourselves now struggling with what is between us and the place God has made for us in Bologna.

Time. We have to be out of the country until January because of tax reasons. Nothing can change that. We are trying to make the most of these days to prepare us to be fully-charged to return. Waiting is hard. Really, really hard.

Money. We still need to raise almost $2000 a month to cover our increased cost of living needs. In the past, I would have been really anxious about how God was going to provide this money. I think I am able to better walk in faith these days. I know God would not have written these people so deeply on my heart if He didn't still have plans for us there. Still, we need Him to provide. And quite frankly, I am so in awe of what God is doing in Bologna that I want to tell everybody about it! I want everyone to partner with us and have a chance to be a part of an incredible, humbling, amazing work by the Spirit of God! I want everyone I meet to catch a glimpse of what God is doing and be a part of it.

The ache hurts. But it is beautiful. It is evidence of God, and I rejoice! I am driven to pray and ask and claim like I never have been before. Would you please pray with us? Would you please join in praying for God's provision of the support we need? Would you pray for our little corner of the world and the place God has made for us there. . . that He would continue to be at work and that we would have the privilege of seeing a harvest in Italy that has not been seen in generations. Pray for the sweet friends we have made. Pray they would one day live in the freedom Christ died for. Pray they would one day know eternal life.

Thanks friends. Thanks for aching a little bit with me.

A Stranger at Home

I know, I know. . . you are thinking that since we are back in the States for a bit, we should have plenty of time to keep up the blog. Life has been crazy since our airplane touched down two and half months ago. We keep thinking, "after _______ it will slow down." But the reality is that raising support is crazy. We have been traveling non-stop. We are thankful to be so busy, even if we have to apologize for our absence from the blogging world. It is my goal to again be a faithful Monday morning blogger--OK, I'm going to say a Tuesday morning blogger. That's when Ben goes to Mom's Day Out!

I don't have a great picture for what I really want to blog about today, so I'm throwing in a random one. Last week Cody and I celebrated our Tenth Wedding Anniversary. On our honeymoon, we spent a week in New England. So for almost a year we have been saving to take an extended trip to Boston. We spent four days there last week, and it was awesome. The weather was perfect, and the whole trip went a long way toward the rest we've been pursuing.

Now, to what I wanted to share. . . in the months leading up to our trip back to the States, we talked about how much we were looking forward to "going home" for a bit. We couldn't wait to enjoy some of the comforts of America. Looking back, I think we were looking forward to the feeling of home more than anything else. A place where we belonged.

The painful reality is that America doesn't feel like home anymore. Yes, it's nice to be able to speak the same language, enjoy the same foods and understand how the culture operates, but we don't have a life here anymore. And who else around me understands the weird Twilight Zone I'm living in--trying to savor such everyday blessings as helping the kids with homework we actually understand and worshipping in English while also trying to prepare for returning to Italy by taking language classes, working tirelessly to maintain relationships long-distance and stocking up on taco seasoning packets to take back with us. I am now saying, "I can't wait to go home," and I mean Italy. That's where our life is. To be saying that marks a great milestone in our transition overseas.

But the other reality is that Italy isn't really home either. My life is there, but I'm not fully comfortable there. There is still so much that is foreign to me.

This week I was doing a Beth Moore Bible Study on the Psalms of Ascent, and in Psalm 120, the author says, "Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar! Too long have I lived among those who hate peace." She makes the observation that the author is neither from Meshech or Kedar and he is exhausted living as a foreigner. And then she asked the very timely question, "Have you ever felt like a foreigner?" Oh wow. Do I ever. And even in my own country.

Never in my life have I understood my citizenship in heaven as concretely as I do now. This place I'm at is weird. I find it hard trying to put it into words. But I am also thankful for it. I would never know the goodness of being a stranger at home--the longing for the sense of "home" that will only come in heaven--if we hadn't stepped out in faith to leave what we felt was that place all along.

The lessons never stop. The blessings never stop. God is good, all of the time.