The Normal Things

I'll confess life has been crazy for Cody and I since we stepped off the airplane four months ago.  And the next two months don't look any different.  We have been spinning far too many plates and spending a few more miles on the road than we would have ever chosen.

But the kids. . . we have worked hard to make sure they have the most consistent, most "normal" American experience as they could possibly have.  And we think they are.  

Last week, Gavin's Kindergarten class took a field trip to a Pumpkin Patch.  Before I even saw the information form, Cody said, "I am going to chaperone this one."  He was almost as excited as Gavin!  They had the best time.  It was so much more than just a pumpkin patch.  They spent the day wondering around mazes, exploring an Old West-style town and going on a hayride.  And Gavin did come home with a pumpkin.

It is Texas.  This is how they do mazes here. :)

This is Gavin with his best friend Jack.

They definitely do not have hayrides in Italy!

After the Pumpkin Patch on Thursday, the kids' school had a Carnival on Friday. On Saturdays, Gavin has soccer games.  On Tuesdays, Hannah takes piano lessons.  We go to AWANA on Sunday, and the kids LOVE going to church.  Ben attends Mother's Day Out three times a week, and he went to a zoo for the first time last week.  During our time back, the kids have gone to a Rangers game and Gavin saw TCU play.  This weekend we will carve a pumpkin and go Trick or Treating.  All normal American things you probably don't think much about.  But none of those things do we get to do in Italy.  

So "normal" is actually such a special treat for our kids!

We realize they probably won't have these experiences again until we move back to the States permanently (years from now, we think. . . ), so we are really grateful for the six months they are getting of it now.  Not because they hold any real significance in and of themselves but because they're a part of a shared experience with their home culture.

God has provided many sweet gifts in the past few months.  These are some of them.

Some Reality

Today I'm posting a link for an article Time Magazine ran on the reality Italian college graduates are facing.  It communicates one of the reasons for the overall hopelessness we are hearing from the Italians we talk with--not only college students, but our peer-aged friends too.


Please take a few minutes to read it.  It communicate well an aspect of life in Italy that is hard for Americans to understand.  It's also an aspect of life we are trying to use to point Italians toward Christ, the only reason for hope.


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2024136-1,00.html

Being Cared For

* OK, I really did get the comment option fixed this week!  If you have to use the "anonymous" option, leave us your name anyway. :)

Back in August when we shared about our decision to stay in the States for a full six-month furlough, we shared that part of that time would be spent processing through our first two years in Italy with our Campus Crusade leadership, talking with counselors and attending a debriefing with Campus Crusade staff who were back from their first term overseas.

Last week we traveled to Austin for our official debriefing.  It was so deeply good.  There is a gal who works for Campus Crusade whose sole job is to make sure all the staff serving overseas from our region are doing well and have the resources they need to thrive in the location they're serving.  When we come home on furlough, she is the one who looks out for us, provides counselors for us and leads a time of debrief.  Having spent a significant amount of time overseas as a missionary herself, she is well acquainted with all the highs and lows of living overseas.

There were six of us who attended this debrief--us, another couple serving in Italy, and two guys who have been in East Asia.  The majority of our time together was spent sharing the stories of what our lives have looked like for the past two years--the good, the bad, and the ugly.  It was so therapeutic to know that those listening understood completely what we've experienced and have similar stories to share.  It's so easy to believe the lie that we are the only ones "going through" the ups and downs we face.  Being in an environment that promotes authenticity and safety really dispels those lies.  And it greatly encourages us to return again to the work.

In addition to the time we spent sharing about our battle wounds (and the glorious ways God has met us in those wounds), we heard from a counselor who works specifically with pastors and missionaries and has extensive experience helping missionaries deal with the very unique challenges of re-entry and living between two cultures.  She did an incredible job helping us to understand all the nuances of living in transition.  It was eye-opening to see just how much stress one incurs when living in two very different worlds.

Add to this time some good ol' fashioned Tex-Mex, beautiful weather, and good friends, and we had a great couple of days.  It's hard to put into words just how encouraging this time was for us.  As the gal who directs this time says, "You don't know what you don't know."  So true! We had no idea how much we needed to hear some of the things that were shared.  Again, we are so thankful to be working for an organization that cares so deeply about our spiritual and emotional health.

Expose Us!

As you can tell, we've been doing some work on The Phipps Five!  As the internet continues to grow as the world's most significant method of communication, we wanted to create a place where current ministry partners could keep read weekly of how God is moving in our midst, where we could post up-to-date prayer requests (check out the Ways to Pray page), and where people we have just met--or haven't even met at all--could check out our ministry.

We will continue to post weekly about what life looks like for us, from family-life to ministry opportunities to our cultural learning experiences.  It is our greatest desire that those who partner with us feel like they have a vivid picture of what they are investing in.  We can't say enough how strongly we feel about our ministry being so much bigger than us on the ground in Italy.  Our ministry consists of every person who gives financially to allow us to cover our living and ministry expenses and every person who goes before the Father to ask for His Spirit to move on our behalf.  No part is greater or less important than the others.

We also want this to be a place where you can point people who might be encouraged to read about what God is up to in the country of Italy.  Expose us!  Tell everyone you know how to find our site (we do!).  The next time you're on Facebook, would you post a link the blog?  We would be so grateful.  We hope anybody who stumbles upon this site is blessed by the stories of God's faithfulness to our family, as we take His gospel to a people who once led the charge for Christ and yet now are so far away from understanding the simplicity of His grace.

We are overwhelmed by the privilege it is to be Italy right now.  Truly, we feel the Spirit of God is beginning to move in this country in a way He hasn't in generations.  We want as many people as possible to hear about what God is doing and join with us!

A few other new pages to point out (the links are found just the right of the most current post).  The Italian Reality paints of picture of the current spiritual reality of Italy.  It answers the question of "Why do we go to Italy?"  It's a great place for folks new to our ministry to read about the spiritual climate we're facing.  La Dolce Vita provides some fascinating snip-its about Italy-- its history and its present.  And finally, HowYou Can Be a Part of What's Happening provides information about how you can give financially to our ministry.  Oh, and we've also made it easier to leave comments. . . give it a try!

Enjoy!  Thanks for stopping by.  Thanks for telling others about us.  Thanks for caring about Italians understanding how they can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.