A May Resolution

I feel like I've really let some people down with my lack of blog updating. . . so I'm making a May resolution to try to post an update at least once a week. Look for them on Mondays. :)

We just returned from a weekend conference with all of the other American CCC staff working in Italy. It was an encouragement in countless ways. Our kids will be talking about it until we get to be together again in November! They had such a great time playing with other kids who speak English. They are beginning to make genuine friendships with the other staff kids, and it ministers to them incredibly. Which, in turn, ministers to Mom and Dad. What a joy watching them play and enjoying themselves so freely!

There was a lot God spoke to us during the weekend, but one of the most beautiful was the big, glorious picture of how He is working so personally, so specifically in so many people's lives to bring them here to Italy to send the gospel out. As we hear more and more stories of all that God is doing to bring people here, we are more and more humbled by the privilege of being a part of what He is going to do in this country. We look at our own story, and we are blown away by God's leading, His incredible provisions, and the prayers that have been so abundantly answered. It seems so HUGE. But we are only one of many stories. Each is just as big. We hung out this weekend with a couple who will be joining us in about a year. He was a lawyer, she a nurse practitioner. They felt the call to work with college students overseas, did some research, and discovered the incredible need in Bologna. They pursued every venue possible to come be a part of what God's doing. There is story after story.

So now May is here, and things are getting busy. We are looking forward to a visit from my Aunt and Uncle next week, and then the Summer Project arrives from the States in about three weeks. We're entering a great time.

Settling into Opportunities

This past week was a really good week for us. It was made so mostly because of the opportunities God gave us to begin building deeper relationships with non-believing Italians. It was one of the first weeks we felt like we were beginning to do what we came here to do. It takes time to build natural relationships, especially when you're crossing a language barrier, but we finally feel like God is really opening the door to several of those relationships.

A couple of weeks ago Hannah was invited over to a friend's house to play. This was a great first step into the lives of the other parents at school. Since kids are with the same classmates until they graduate from Elementary school, parents become a pretty close-knit group. Most have known each other for years. It can be a challenge to break into the group. A playdate was such an encouragement to us that we're beginning to make progress. Of course, a lot has to be credited to Hannah, who is excelling at the language even far beyond Italians' expectations. The initial playdate went well, as did the reciprocal playdate at our house.

Then last week another friend invited her over. When her parents called to set it up, they actually invited our whole family over for dinner. To have dinner in an Italian's home is a big deal. Of course we said yes. Dinner started at 8pm (an hour after our kids are usually in bed). The wife is from a region in Italy that specializes in seafood, so it was a night of all kinds of fish (including a cold octopus salad!). Six courses--the food was amazing. Even more exciting, however, was how much fun we had! The husband speaks a little English, but the wife doesn't speak any. We did our best to speak mostly in Italian, which was great language practice for us. We were actually really, really encouraged by how much we were able to communicate. We didn't leave until almost 11. The kids were BEARS the next day. :)

And on Friday, Gavin had a play date with a friend from school at the park (a girl, nonetheless). I went with all the kids, and again, the mom spoke very little English. I wouldn't say we had especially deep conversation, but it was incredibly encouraging to be able to maintain conversation for an hour and half. She even invited us over to their home the next day. Gavin is having a much harder time with the language than Hannah. He says maybe 10 words. Somehow he and this little girl were able to play and have a great time though.

As we had dinner with our new friends, a heaviness entered my heart in a way I have not known. It struck me that unless WE tell them how much God loves them and how He longs to have a personal relationship with them, they will probably NEVER hear. I thought of all the precious kids Hannah goes to school with and how there is probably no one in their lives who would ever tell them the truth of the Bible. No one except Hannah. What an incredible opportunity and responsibility we have! I felt such an urgency.

We were able to interject a few comments about our faith throughout the night, but the next time we get together (for an American meal when Cody returns from the States next week), we hope to be able to have a more in-depth, intentional conversation. We hope that the Lord would allow us to have a great friendship with this couple and that it could be centered on the only Hope that we have.

God is so good! Really, my heart is absolutely overwhelmed at this calling the Lord has spoken on our lives. It has been amazing to see how the Lord has provided for every single one of the logistical details of our move to Bologna. Now we are seeing Him provide relationally. We are really beginning to feel like Bologna is "home" now. We're settling at a much deeper level. It is deeply, deeply good.

I've included a few new pictures. A couple of weeks ago we took a day trip to Venice and had a great time. It was beautiful--just like all the pictures and postcards we'd ever seen. Ben also turned one two weeks ago. Shocking, I know! He continues to be such a source of joy for our whole family.

If the Lord moves you, please pray for these new relationships we've made. Pray God would use us significantly in their lives to draw them to Himself. Pray He would allow us more and more of these opportunities.

 
 
 
 

Prayer for Our Pastor

The reason Campus Crusade has staff in Bologna is because of a missionary pastor here named Andy Brucato. Andy and his family (his wife and four sons) moved to Bologna 20 years ago to plant a church. It is one of very few healthy, solid evangelical churches in Italy and Andy is a cornerstone of the evangelical world here. Several years ago he contacted Campus Crusade with the vision of working together to reach the college students of Bologna. The vision he cast and the idea of partnering with a church was all our leadership needed to start moving in the direction of placing full-time staff here. This church (and Andy) has prayed for laborers to be sent to Bologna for years. We are the answer to many of their prayers. Andy and his wife, Linda, are incredible examples of believers walking closely with the Lord and seeing amazing things happen.

Last June Andy and Linda, went back to the States for a furlough. When we first arrived in Bologna, it was their apartment that we stayed in until we found our own place and our belongings arrived. They got back to Bologna two weeks ago. Andy is 59 years old and is in great shape. Last Wednesday, however, he suffered a massive stroke. Linda was out of town when it happened, and he lay for 9 hours before firemen broke in his apartment to find him. It is a miracle he is alive.

Would you please join us in praying for this dear brother? God has used him mightily for His glory in Bologna and Italy. We believe He still has plans for Andy to accomplish! Pray for God to be glorified in every way through these hard-to-understand circumstances. Below is a portion of an e-mail Linda sent out that communicates incredibly the beauty of their faith.

"We have not experienced moments of overwhelming fear or sorrow. We feel completely at peace; truly that supernatural peace that "passes all understanding". This morning Andy told me how he passed those hours on the floor of the bathroom- reciting scripture, in particular Isaiah 41:10 "Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Andy said he was never afraid.

This morning in my devotions I was in Luke 5- the story about the paralytic whose friends carried him up on the roof to get him to Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of the friends He said, "Your sins are forgiven". I've read that passage a thousand times but today I saw it in a new way- from Jesus' eyes. These friends would stop at nothing to get their friend healed. No obstacle was going to stand in their way. Whatever it took. Jesus, seeing that kind of determination, gives them something greater than what they wanted. They would have been satisfied with physical healing, but their friend would have eventually died someday anyway. Jesus gave him what he really needed- spiritual healing so that he would live forever, and then he gave them the lesser gift as well, physical healing.

As Andy lies paralyzed in bed we would be tempted to settle for a lesser blessing- physical healing- but what we both want is a greater blessing- we want others, in particular Andy's brother and family members to have their sins forgiven. The beauty is that our God is able to give both, the greater and the lesser!! Would you pray with us that the Father would use this event in the life of Andy's family for their salvation, and for the salvation of Italians?"

Doctors have determined the stroke was caused by a blockage of an artery that will have to be operated on when his condition improves a little. They are hoping to do that within the next couple of weeks. Until that time, there is still a chance of another stroke occurring. You can pray specifically for that, as well.

The Body of Christ is a beautiful thing. Thanks for praying for this incredible man of Faith. He has been integral in what God has done in Bologna in the past 20 years, and what we believe He is going to do in the future. We will keep you updated

A Taste of Spring

After sharing last week about the challenges of January, we felt like we had to share what a great week we had this past week. It really was a great answer to prayer. First, the weather warmed up just a bit (from the low 30's to the low 40's). For some reason, that made a huge difference. And there were a couple of days when the sun was shining too! It gave us a little taste of spring that we have to say was intoxicating. Bologna is such a great city to walk that when the weather is nice it's hard to imagine a better place to be.

The weather was really icing on the cake to a really good week though. Cody started back to Italian class and spent time, as well, just walking through campus praying for God to be forging ahead of us. One evening he went out with a friend from church and learned about the Italian practice of Aperitivi. That night Hannah asked where he was going, and I said, "Well, it's kind of like going out to dinner before dinner." Most bars (which are totally different than a bar in the States--mostly they are coffee bars) will offer an aperitivi around 5pm. It's a little buffet of finger foods and a glass of wine. Then you eat dinner around 8. Anyway, hanging out with students over aperitivi will be just like hanging out at Starbucks with students in the States. It will be a huge ministry venue. So this friend from church took it upon himself to take Cody and explain the whole cultural experience to him. It was very good.

The next night, Cody met with a student named Andrea, whom he has gotten together with several times since meeting him at a Thanksgiving outreach he did. They have had good conversation every time they've gotten together, but this week Cody was able to share his testimony with him and tell him more specifically why we're here. Needless to say, this was a huge encouragement. Though we absolutely understand and feel the need for the language-learning emphasis we have this year, it was a great reminder of why we're putting in all this work. Please, please pray for God to begin working in Andrea's heart. Pray he would pursue more gospel conversations and be open to reading the Bible with Cody.

And oddly, God also spoke encouragement this week when we found out that it does not look like Gavin is going to get into preschool at all this year. I was really disheartened by the news (as was Gavin--he's been praying every night for God to open a spot for him). But Cody had great perspective. He said he was convinced that God hadn't provided a spot for Gavin because He was protecting him from something. Schools are different here in Italy. They are taught from a shame-based philosophy. And discipline is not a big priority either, so boys especially can be really rough. All along we felt so confident that getting Gavin into school would help him to adjust to the culture and make some friends. We now trust that God knew that would not be the best thing for him. We have a great peace about it now.

The best part about our time in Italy has been how dependent we've remained on the Lord. He has continued to meet us and reveal Himself to us in the most concrete and amazing ways. I feel like I live in light of His character so much more than I ever have. His glory brings me so much comfort. The little taste of spring we got this week went much farther than just the weather. It was an encouragement we really needed.

Surviving January

The whirlwind and excitement of Christmas could not have come at a better time for us. Just before Christmas we had hit a real low. The busy-ness of getting settled had slowed down, and we were beginning to deal with the realities of life in Bologna long-term. We needed a little distraction. Christmas break flew by, but it definitely refilled our sails a bit.

God is really good on the days that we're struggling to speak encouragement at just the right time. Hannah's class at school put on a little Christmas show the week before Christmas, and she blew us away! She has picked up so much language this fall! She sang right along with everybody else, having a great time, we might add. We have begun to make a few relationships with some of the other parents, and the night of the Christmas concert was a sweet reminder of God's incredible provisions for us. We prayed so much for Hannah to have a positive school experience, and we could not have asked for anything more. In a lot of ways, we're more pleased with her school experience here than in the States even. More than that, we were encouraged by the reminder of the relationships God has begun for us. When we think about the Italians we are getting to know, we are quickly reminded of why we moved here. God HAS come before us. He HAS prepared great things for us. We are so excited to see what He has in store.

We were thrilled that my parents decided to visit for Christmas this year! We were so anxious for company and the opportunity to share a little bit of our life with family. The weather was cold while they were here, so we hung out inside as much as possible, but it ministered to all of us to have them here. The kids soaked up time with Grandma and Papa. Much wrestling was had and even a trip to a Gelateria in sub-freezing temperatures. We made some great memories to always think about when remembering our first Christmas in Italy.

Now it is January, and we are trying to press through the post-Christmas let down. We had anticipated this being a challenging time, and it started out about as we anticipated. Since it's remained cold (lower 30's--which is really cold for former Houstonians!), we have felt a lot more cooped up. We really have to push ourselves to continue engaging the culture. We remain more worn-out emotionally than we'd like. But we're pressing on. We are looking forward to several things coming up, including a group of students from TCU who will be coming at Spring Break. It's good to have some milestones to look forward to. Small goals feel really important right now.

Thanks for continuing to pray for us. We are continuing to pray there would be an opening for Gavin to start preschool. We're praying we would hear even this week. We know we're in the midst of probably our most challenging time here. We value you standing with us so very much.

We needed that. . .

Last weekend we headed to a little Christian Retreat center about 30 minutes outside of Florence for an Italian staff conference. It is always good to be with other Campus Crusade staff--to be encouraged by God's Word and hear about what's happening through the ministry. We had no idea how much we needed it this time though. It was like water on a dry and dusty land!

There are about 70 Americans working with CCC in Italy this year. About 20 of those are long-term staff, and the rest are here interning for a year. There are a few other families, as well, which was SO GOOD for the kids. Gavin was especially homesick last week. He has been on the waiting list to get into an Italian preschool, but we're still waiting. He needed to play with some other kids so badly. So he played and played and played. It was cold and rainy most of the weekend, but it didn't phase him. How good for us, as parents, to see our kids' hearts encouraged! Hannah quickly made friends, as well, and is already talking about the next time we'll get to hang out with them (many of their new friends live in Rome).

For me, personally, it was also really good to be with other moms. There are just some unique challenges to family life in Italy. Especially doing what we do. So to be with other moms who are dealing with the same issues I am (like how to have a good parent/teacher conference with Hannah's teachers who speak no English) was such a boost for me.

Also very encouraging was hearing about what God is doing around the country. Since we are just starting the ministry in Bologna, it's been easy at times to feel discouraged by the lack of "something to show." That coupled with the stories we hear from all over the country about the hardness of the Italian heart can be overwhelming. God IS at work in Italy though! It was such an encouragement to hear stories of how people are beginning to see Italians soften to the gospel. In Rome they have started a children's ministry that has taken off beyond anyone's imagination. In Fiesole, a staff mom began a friendship with a very influential Italian mom that has opened doors to share the gospel with the Italian President's Society (a group of very successful, influential Italians). So exciting!

In the past couple of weeks we have felt a strange sense of discouragement. The kind you can't quite put a finger on. Though we are feeling settled and more comfortable with every day life, we have experienced several days of feeling completely inadequate for what we hope to see God do. More than inadequate but completely discouraged. Being reminded of the vision to reach Italy, being encouraged that our experience is normal, seeing our kids filled with fun. . . it was deeply good.

Anticipation of BIG things

Last night we were given another glimpse into what God is preparing for Bologna. Though we can still only dream about the specifics, it's going to be incredible.

One of the most encouraging aspects of heading to Bologna was hearing about the partnership of evangelicals who were here. It was this group (two churches and Youth for Christ) who first contacted Campus Crusade, asking for some full-time staff to please be sent to Bologna. Since we've arrived, we have been blown away by the unity amongst this group. Especially compared the great divisions that exist among the Protestant churches in Italy (this is another long, sad story for another time).

Last night we had dinner with a couple from England who arrived in Bologna a month before we did. They are about our age with no kids. He was born in Italy but raised in London, where he most recently served as a pastor. About two years ago God began to call them to pastor a church in Bologna and help teach at one of the two Institutes in Italy for evangelical Christians (there are no seminaries). It was great to hear about how God had worked to bring them here. He said at one point, "The best way I can describe it is to say I would have been a Jonah if I hadn't come."

In a couple of hours together, we dreamed some big dreams! It was incredible to hear others talking with the same passion about the same goal of seeing Italians come to a true biblical understanding of Jesus. The more we talked, the more we saw how God is moving some major pieces together to bring the gospel to this city. We are so humbled to think about being a part of it! And filled with so much anticipation of what He has in store. Please join with us in praying for God's will to be accomplished here. Pray for this little body of believers to have great wisdom and discernment in how the Lord would have us proceed.

In closing, I'll share our little "ah, Italy" moment of the day. In looking over Hannah's homework tonight, we saw that in science this week they studied the bottling process of wine. First the grapes are grown, then they are stomped, put into barrels and bottled. In first grade! Hilarious! Only in Italy. . .

We leave tomorrow for a staff conference with all the Campus Crusade staff in Italy. We are so looking forward to being with others in the same place we are in. And the kids are dying to play with other english-speaking kids! Gavin is genuinely starting to get lonely. He needs some friends outside of his siblings. So if nothing else, for him to play with other kids will be worth the trip. Today he finally said, "Mom, I miss Houston. I want to go back there." So, we are looking forward to the refreshment and encouragement.

We'll post another update soon!

Storming a Castle

Again, we have to apologize for the lengthy delay since our last blog. Our stuff arrived from the States! It was one of the happiest days we can remember in recent memory. We can't even begin to describe the morale booster sleeping in our own beds provided. The kids still haven't gotten over having their toys again. Talk about Christmas in October! Being in our own apartment has been another huge step toward feeling settled. It wasn't seemless, however. We just got Internet back last week. We've blown more fuses than we care to count. And we've had to learn new bus routes from our new location. Oh, and did I mention the printer cable I fried accidently?

As this blog serves to witness, our life has been a freight train since March. After we had unpacked the last box and hung most of the pictures, we sat on our couch in the living room and thought, "We made it. Maybe life will return to normal." Of course, as I wrote earlier, it's definitely a new kind of normal. Still, we feel like we're slowing down for the first time in six months. It's a good feeling.

In our last prayer letter, we had asked people to pray for some family fun. Because we have had so much to accomplish in the past months, we feel like we've been painfully short on play time. This past weekend, the other couple we're working with, who have a car, invited us to go with them to a little town about 25 minutes away that has a real life castle. The kids needed to hear no more to be on board! I've included some pictures from our little adventure (that's the kids in the "torture chamber"). We were back by lunch, but it was such a boost of refreshment to get out of the city and explore a little. We're adapting to urban living pretty well, but there's somthing about being in the country that breathes some rest.

Even though there have been some great "pick-me-ups" in the past month, we have also experienced some of our first cultural adjustment challenges. There have been some days of great discouragement. When you hang pictures on your walls, there is a new sense of "Wow, we're really staying here for a long time." But you know, the bottom line is that our hearts still break for Italians to know Jesus. The other day, I was waiting to pick up Hannah from school, and I was just overcome with compassion for all the parents I was surrounded by. They work so hard. They just looked so worn out. I want so much for them to know joy. Still, sometimes when you're completely frustrated that you need yet another plug to make something work, it's hard to remember the bigger picture.

Some happy things we've discovered: grocery delivery to our apartment (a life-saver!), a grocery store that has really good tortilla chips (we haven't found any good salsa yet though), a park pretty close to our new apartment that has a wooded trail--you can almost forget you're in the city, a really yummy and really cheap Chinese restaurant, novella wine (wine made from the harvest's first grapes), and a really cool castle in Dozza.