Checking In

It feels our days are focused far too much on "To Do Lists" right now.  There is just so much to do!  A lot got accomplished yesterday though, which makes today look that much better. :)  Just a quick update today and some pictures from our trip to Rome last weekend. . .

One of the biggest things that happened yesterday was that I drove our car up to Vicenza, Italy and sold it to an American who paid us in dollars and who we know will love the car as much as we did.  Praise the Lord!!  This is such a huge weight off our shoulders.  Thank you so much for praying for this specifically.  We are now carless until we leave, but that is so much better than still owning a car on August 6.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is a really big day.  We're throwing a party for all of Hannah's friends to come and say good-bye.  Parties are such a big deal here, besides the fact that it's our last opportunity to speak the gospel to these precious girls.  We have given it much thought and prayer, and Hannah is ecstatic.  She bought a cross necklace for each friend and wrote notes to them about how she hopes they will remember her faith when they wear it and know Jesus offers them the same.  On the How to Pray page, there are specific requests for this event.  We would really love your prayers.

Also in answered prayer, we have landed on a mover.  The Italian mover came last week, and we really liked him.  Though our preference would be an American-based company, these movers seems like the best decision.  Thank you so much for praying for this!  Again, we'd love your prayers for a complication-free move.

So this past weekend, we took one last road trip.  We drove down to Rome to meet some ministry partners who were in town and to say good-bye to some dear friends who are missionaries there.  Rome is an amazing city, but it is exhausting.  Last weekend was pretty warm, and we returned to Bologna completely worn out.  But also thankful for the opportunity to be with friends one more time.  Here are a few photos:

It feels our world is spinning around us, but our God isn't.  In the midst of all our chaos, we are trying most to walk faithfully.  Seeing the ruins in Rome almost 2000 years old was a great reminder of God's continued hand on this country.  The arch in the picture above is in honor of Constatine--the first emperor to make Christianity legal in Rome.  God will not stop fighting for the hearts of these people.

We are so blessed by your encouragement in this transition.  You are a sweet gift God has used to carry us along.  

While in Assisi. . .

When I was in high school, I spent three weeks one summer traveling around Europe, singing in various churches with a choir.  One of the songs we sang was "The Prayer of St. Francis."

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury,pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

As a young believer, I was captured by the words.  Soon after joining the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ, I was re-introduced to St. Francis and became fascinated with his radical commitment to love as Christ.  Yes, there are some "interesting" aspects to his calling and ministry, but it is clear that his life was changed by the risen Christ.

St. Francis was from Assisi, Italy.  It is about an hour and half east/northeast of Rome.  Assisi is in the hills, and I've heard it's just beautiful.  Thousands and thousands flock to the small little village every year to visit the land where the Catholic Church's most popular saint was born and ministered.  I've wanted to visit since we arrived in Italy, but I've also known it probably wasn't a place my kids would enjoy much, so I hadn't had the chance.

Assisi

A couple of weeks ago, however, we had a conference just for missionary moms.  It was held about 15 minutes from Assisi.  So one afternoon I had the opportunity to spend a few hours exploring the town.  It was just as beautiful and quaint as I had been told.  My heart broke, however, when we visited the cathedral and monastery that stand in honor of St. Francis.

St. Francis Church and Monastery--it is set on the edge of a hill, overlooking a valley.  Beautiful.

As are most churches, it was filled with beautiful frescos.  These did not depict the life of Christ, however.  The central figure in each was St. Francis.  The architecture of the church is very unique, having two entirely separate places of worship under the floor of the main sanctuary.  Under those is yet another small chapel where over the altar is a sarcophagus thought to hold the bones of St. Francis.  Over the altar.  It is a sacred place for many--there was a plaque commemorating the pilgrimage Pope John Paul made during his papacy.  People have left photos of loved ones all over the stones that hold up the sarcophagus.  Obviously many come to this place expecting a spiritual experience of some kind--even a miracle.

I was shocked by the--dare I say this word--idolatry made of this man.  His bones set on an altar!  The frescos illuminate St. Francis, not Christ.  My heart was so burdened for all the people who come to this place looking for spiritual enlightenment and look to a man instead of the Maker of man.  What a huge distraction to seeing the One whom Francis wanted his life to point to in all ways.  I felt like God's glory had been stolen.

Assisi is a hilly town.  Lovely to look at, hard to navigate. :) On the highest hill remains a castle.

Please don't misunderstand my heart.  I was not filled with condescension.  Or judgment.  I was filled with all out compassion--the gut-wrenching, head-spinning, I-want-to-stand-up-and-shout kind of compassion.  I wanted everyone who had pilgrimaged to this little village in nowhere Italy to know that the spiritual experience they were after is available to them at any time, in any place.  The God of the Universe wants to interact with them in the most precious, personal, life-changing, miraculous ways.

God has changed my heart in countless ways in the past two and half years.  The love and compassion I feel for those I pass by every day can knock me off my feet.  My trip to Assisi changed me, and not in the way I was expecting.

And just so you know, I still think St. Francis was an incredible man of God.  He is still one of my heros of the faith.  He was willing to be absolutely radical because of the call God placed on his heart.  I want to be as willing.

*If you want to learn more about the life of St. Francis, G.K Chesterton wrote my favorite biography.  It's aptly titled Saint Francis of Assisi.

Our Final Weekend

This past weekend was our last weekend in Bologna till the Fall and we felt like sitting in the house was not a great way to spend it. The Italian team had already been bounced from the World Cup and the U.S. was not playing till Saturday night. So....we decided to take a short roadtrip! We have some friends who had visited two towns just northwest of Bologna a few weeks before and thought our kids would like it. So, we piled in the car Saturday morning and headed out.

Fidenza is a smal town about an hour and a half from Bologna along the old Roman road called Via Emilia. This road runs the entire length of the region of Emilia-Romagna. Yet for all the historical-ness of this region, Fidenza is known for the brand new Outlet Mall that just opened. While shopping is not my cup of tea (Cody here), they had a really nice playground for the kids to play on. After running around for a hour or so and then a quick lunch, we headed to our primary destination of Castell'Arquato. It's believed that this small town began as a Roman military settlement and developed into a rural farming center during the Imperial Era of the Roman Empire. As you can see from the pictures, the castle itself was built into the hillside to take advantage of the surrounding area.

The picture above was taken about 10km outside the town as we drove in. It was a beautiful drive through pastures and vineyards and one of the few times we've not been on the Autostrada as we've travelled. The kids had a great time climbing all over the castle grounds and surrounding hills.

At one point, Gavin stumbled onto a smal cave that had been cut out from the hillside directly below the castle. Needless to say, he was in Heaven exploring the town.

It was a great way to spend our last weekend as a family before the mad rush of our final week. We're currenty in the throes of packing, cleaning, organizing, and prepping for our time in the States. As you think of us this week (especially on Thursday as we fly), please pray for us! The blog will take a short break, but we hope to be back with you in a couple of weeks! Ci vediamo dopo!

A New Rythym

Menton, France

I have never really thought much about vacations before. Every summer growing up we would take a family vacation, and I have years of great memories. But Cody and I took one "real" vacation in the first nine years of our marriage. Because we travel so much for our job, and because we're missionaries and don't make much, vacations just didn't seem "necessary."

And then we moved overseas.
I know what you're thinking, "Yea, you have so many great places to go visit now." Though that is true, and we love learning about the incredible history and culture that surrounds us, that is actually one of the very last motivators for us. The bottom line is, we just plain NEED vacations on a regular basis. Not week-long vacations, just little getaways and respites from the stress of life here.

It is shocking to us--SHOCKING--how exhausted we become in just doing life. Part, I think, is just due to all of the cultural and language stresses we face all day, every day. Part is also the extra emotional and physical energy required for almost any task. Accomplishing even menial tasks here are never "easy." But part of the exhaustion also comes from the isolation we are in. We have several really good Italian and ex-pat friends, whom we really enjoy hanging out with, but it is different than hanging out with friends who really know us well and speak encouragement to our hearts.

Our kids don't get a Spring Break, they get an Easter Break. They have the Thursday before Easter through the Tuesday following Easter off from school. So this year we spent five days in Menton, France. It is literally 2km across the French border (about 5 hours from here), so it looks like France but everyone still speaks Italian. I found a little apartment we were able to rent for next to nothing since it was low season. It is on the French Riviera, right next to Monaco. It was beautiful! Incredible!

Parks! Parks! Parks! We found them all. We spent as much time outside as we could, now that the cold and snowy winter is FINALLY over.

Since we really just needed to relax, we spent a lot of time finally enjoying some sun and playing outside. The kids had a blast enjoying the beach, and Cody and I enjoyed the simplicity of walking around the quaint little town, cooking French cuisine at the apartment and savoring some down-time. It fed our souls!

Dad, teaching the kids how to skip rocks. It quickly devolved into just throwing rocks into the water, but the kids still had a great time.

As our time in Menton came to a close, I realized just how much I had needed a little time away. Our lives look so different here than they ever looked while living in the States! I think one of those differences is prioritizing some regular getaways. If we are going to be here long-term and thrive, we have to build in time for refreshment. That just doesn't happen in our current environment in Bologna.

The water color was the most perfect blue

So maybe I am learning a new rythym to life. Work hard. Pray hard. Trust hard. And then relax and refill.

And it doesn't hurt that in this season of life we get to refill on the coast of the French Riviera. Never in a million years would I have thought this would be my life.

This was the quaint little street our apartment was on. Rue Longue.

Gavin could play on a beach for days--no matter what the temperature was. These clothes were soaked within 15 minutes.

This was actually in Nice, which was only 20 minutes away. It was nice, but we liked the smaller Menton better.

Valentine's Day in Florence

Wow, what a treat we had last night! Since our awesome and amazing STINT girl Crystal was already set to babysit for us on Monday for a meeting we had in Florence, we didn't have any big plans for Valentine's Day. I was going to make fajitas, but that was about it. Also because of our meeting, we were going to have to get up early to catch a train.

On Friday, Crystal called to see if we would want to go out on Sunday night. She didn't mind babysitting Sunday night AND Monday morning if it would be a blessing to us (she used to be a teacher, so she has great skills with maintaining order among our three!). One thing led to another, and she ended up spending the night Sunday night so that Cody and I could head to Florence early and enjoy our very first overnight away from the kids since moving.

A self-taken photo in front of the Duomo

I went online and found a great deal on this old hotel that had been refurbished recently. I went with it because of the price, but it turned out to be one of the nicest hotels we've stayed in here. All hotels offer a breakfast with the room, but they usually consist of bread and jams. This breakfast was a full buffet with eggs and american-style bacon!

And while we're on the topic of food. . . we decided to forgo Italian on Valentine's night and hit the Mexican restaurant in Florence (who would do that in the States?). Yummy, yummy, yummy! That was an incredibly special treat, since Mexican restaurants (especially good ones) are pretty darn rare here.

We wrapped up our 24 hours away with a stroll around town after our meeting, before catching the train back. Oh, how we were blessed with this little gift of a few hours away to focus on each other! Since I'm writing this (Jen), I can not let the opportunity pass to say what an incredible job Cody did making the most of our time away. I felt pursued in the ways I did when we were dating. :) He truly made it one of the best Valentine's Days we've ever had together. What a great guy!

I am so thankful to say we returned to Bologna feeling incredibly refreshed! It was a short trip, but it went a long ways.

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?

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.