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.

The Pressure Cooker

My mother-in-law gently rebuked me this weekend for the lengthy delay in updating our little blog, so I wanted to get something posted for anyone waiting for our next installment. :) This one is just for you Julie! Once we arrive in Bologna, I hope to post an update very regularly. This month has been insane in trying to get all our very last minue details in order, in the midst of traveling TONS to visit friends and relatives and accomplish things like final doctor and dentist visits. I have thought about what I would write often, but time hasn't permitted me the luxury yet.

In so many ways, we wish we could be on a plane tomorrow! We feel so ready that the waiting has been the most difficult aspect of this month. We would even say it has been a challenge to stay "ready" with so many days still ahead of us in the States. Some of you may be wondering why we haven't left earlier. . . well, Italy pretty much shuts down in August. That is when everyone goes on Holiday. If we arrived now, we wouldn't be able to accomplish anything in terms of getting settled in. A friend who lived in Europe for years recently told us, "Friends don't let friends move to Europe in August." So, we're waiting for September to arrive. It is getting closer--we will finally arrive in Bologna two weeks from today.

It has been interesting, over the past eight months, how stress has expressed itself so consistently and yet in so many different forms. Whether it's been taking care of details, living in transition, thinking through the challenges of the future, or dealing with emotions of leaving our amazing support system, we have been living in a hightened state of stress for a long time. We can't say we're fans of living in stress. We knew it would be unavoidable, and we've managed it the best we could have, but we are now feeling just really worn out by it. We know that once we arrive in-country there will be a whole new set of stressors, but we are definitely looking forward to the pace of life slowing down. We are looking forward to unpacking (though that won't fully be able to even do that until November) and making a home.

There have been many, many spiritually significant and encouraging things the Lord has shown us and spoken to us over the past months. One of the most awe-inspiring, however, is the realization of God's voice clearly spoken. It was over two years ago that we first began to feel like God was calling us to return to Italy long-term. I clearly remember sitting in our sparce apartment in Florence and feeling like the Lord was speaking to my heart and beginning to burden it for the Italian people. At the time, I remember thinking, "If God's calling, I'll go. But A LOT of things would have to happen." Here we are, two years later, and all those things have happened. He sold our house, He raise the thousands of dollars we needed. He has met every single need we had. It WAS His voice I heard. It has been His voice all along the way. Our God is so real. He is so good. If He could do all that needed to be done to get us to this point, I can't wait to see what He's going to do once we get to Italy.

Training. . .

Yes, that is our little padawon, Gavin, lightsaber-to-lightsaber with Darth Vader. This year Disney's theme at their parks is "Year of a Million Dreams." On Father's Day, we went to DisneyWorld and made two of those dreams come true--it was perhaps an even bigger dream come true for Daddy than for Gavin. Gavin was chosen to participate in the Jedi Training Academy, at the end of which he got to fight Darth Vader himself. Wow! It will probably always be on Daddy's all-time most incredible memories list.

If only we had the time to update our blog as quickly as life is happening! We really felt like once we left for X-Track, things would slow down. On one hand, we are so thankful to be past the chaos of the past several months. We are so thankful (SO thankful!) that our house is sold, our belongings are packed, and for better or worse, we've sorted through what is going with us and what is not. We are glad that phase of this process is over. X-Track has been exhausting in and of itself.

The training we have been receiving has been incredible. We have been challenged so much in thinking through not only how to minister more effectively to Italians but how to thrive in our new culture. We have learned tons that is going to save us learning a lot of lessons the hard way. And we've received some great guidance in coming up with proactive plans for not only surviving but thriving. We're leaving with an Education Plan for the kids. And a Language plan for us. And minds filled with cultural adjustments in what could help Italians better understand the personal relationship Jesus wants to have with them.

Though we feel pushed to the limit in terms of what we can process, we feel like God is being so active in our lives. He is shaping and molding us in so many ways. We are so glad for it though! We feel so incredibly inadequate for what He has called us to. We are trying to soak up as much as we can from this time.

Our last days as Houstonians

It is hard to keep up with all God is doing to get us to Bologna (yes, we finally know what city we're headed to!). He sold our house on the very last day of the week we had been praying it would sell by. Our inspection went awesome--they asked for nothing. We needed to sell our refridgerator, and the buyers needed one. Today is our "Liquidation Garage Sale" and so far things are flying off the shelves! (Little do people know that tomorrow by 10 we're literally going to be giving things away. . .)

So, we'll close on June 5 (Hannah's very last day of Kindergarten), and we'll leave the next day for Florida and X-Track (our international training program). To help the kids remember and say good-bye to Houston (and yes, us too), we've started a "What We Love About Houston" scrapbook. We've gone around and taken pictures of our favorite people and places. Here are a few of them (our local Starbucks, Texadelphia--one of our favorite lunch spots, the Houston skyline, and our church). We have loved living in Houston! And I say that on a day when it was 95 degrees and almost 100 percent humidity. These past four years have been some of the sweetest of our lives.

Even though we are in the midst of it, it is still hard to believe we are actually leaving. I wish I could say it has gotten easier, but every few days a wave of grief washes over us. It has been very emotionally exhausting to say good-bye to a place that has been so good for us, for our kids and for our family. It's been exhausting to purge half of our belongings. It's amazing how much emotion can be attached to something that carries with it a memory.

God was so good to me (Jen) this week. On a day when I was especially having a hard time of letting go, God gave me the picture of His outstretched arms, asking, "Can you give it to Me? Can you give this up for me and for what I'm asking you to do?" In light of that, it is not hard for me to let go. I will willing give it all up to be obedient to Jesus.