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.

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.

Back in the States

The blog returns....after a month long hiatus. We've been back in the States for about a month now and have spent about three weeks of that time on the road visiting friends and family in Texas and New Mexico. When not traveling, we usually find ourselves in some doctor's office getting something looked at.

One of the trips we took was out to Albuquerque to visit friends and share about our time in Bologna. Whenever we spend time in Albuquerque, we always stay with some friends who we've known since before we got married. We've always valued their wisdom and faith as we've walked through marriage and what God has called us to. Our kids see them as another set of grandparents and are getting old enough to begin learning from them as well.

With that in mind, I really wanted Gavin, Jim, and I to get some time out in the wilderness of New Mexico so we could be boys. Jim and I talked about it a bit and decided to take a day hike at the peak of the the Sandia Mountains. Jim knew a great trail that would be just long enough and interesting enough for Gav. It began at the top of the mountain and led down through the forest for a bit before coming to an old stone house that marks the halfway point. We spent some time climbing around the old house before making the return journey.

Gavin thought it best to go armed with two water-pistols and spent much of the hike looking for small woodland creatures toshoot, but only managed to scare off two birds. It was a great trip for him and we all enjoyed being out of the city for a bit. The hike concluded with a hearty lunch at The Frontier, a popular dive right across the street from where I went to college.